At the End of the Day
by RiotFest
Summary: Brittany never imagined living in Chicago as a single mother with no career. After being fired from the 80s diner, she's desperate for money. A woman with a smokey charm mistakes her for a hooker and pays her cash to have a one night stand. Little did she know that she'll be seeing that woman around the city and soon have her in her life as well as her child's.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Glee ©**

**A/N: just because**

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The alarm clock rings, waking me up from my dream. It's the same dream that I've been having for the last few months, a dream where I live my life on the streets. I can almost feel the cold air hitting my face and each time I bring the thin blanket closer to my body the wind blows twice as hard. Chilly winds powerful enough for me to feel numb. The last five years of my life hasn't gone exactly what I had planned for me. Not finishing college and not perusing my career still haunts me, especially since the accident. That led me to become a waiter that barely makes enough for myself.

"Mommy!" A boyish voice calls for me.

And for my son. I roll onto my side and smile when I see a small boy at the ripe young age of 4 running towards me from the other side of the apartment. He hops on my bed and cuddles besides me. I grin and bury my face in his dirty blonde hair. I run my hand up and down his small arm and whisper good morning. He grins widely and places his tiny hand on my cheek, hi Mommy he says.

"My birthday is coming up soon." His voice is soft like you can barely hear him. "Are we going to visit Grandpa?"

"On your birthday, yes." I answer him, pulling him close to me and enjoying his warmth that I love so much. "What do you want to do on your birthday?"

He thinks for a moment. I look down at him and couldn't help but giggle at his cute thinking expression. He closes his eyes and furrows his eyebrows, pouting his lips and scrunching his nose. He usually thinks deeply when he has that look on. His eyes snap open revealing dark shimmering with excitment.

"Can we play hockey?" He asks hopefully. "On the ice rink!"

I pretend to think about it. He squirms in my arms, trying to get my attention back. I laugh and say. "Of course we can baby. Then after we can go to Grandpa's."

"Yes!"

"Yes indeed." I coo at him. "Go brush your teeth now while I make breakfast. I can smell your stinky breath." I lean down close to his face and rub my nose against his.

He giggles and pulls back. "You have smelly breath too, Mommy!"

"What?" I feign a pout. The glint in his eyes tells me that he enjoys teasing me. "My breath smells like rainbows and sunshine!"

"Nuh-huh!" He laughs. "You're so silly!"

"You're silly." I grin. Getting up, I lift him and place him down on the carpeted flooring. "Go brush now, baby."

" 'Kay Mommy." He replies and runs off to the bathroom.

I get off the bed and stretch my body. After releasing a monstrous yawn, I walk off to the tiny kitchen we have, not bothering to fix the bed. What's the point of making a bed when it's going to messy again later on? I go over to the stove and place the pan on it. I turn the dial and walk over to the small fridge while the pan heats up. I pull out a few eggs and a package of bacon.

My mind runs to the tips that I made last night or this morning since I did came home at 3 am. I know I received a five from this one gentleman and his wife and I received two dollars from the trucker and another three from this woman. Numbers fill my mind and I realize I have enough to buy the new hockey stick. I knock an egg against the counter and pull the shells apart over the hot pan. The pan sizzles when the yolk hits the surface.

As the egg cooks, I look over the mail that I received yesterday. Mostly junk but I notice that I got a few bills. Silently praying, I cautiously open the bill for the water and read it. Shit, I forgot the pay the water bill last month! My hand smacks my forehead and I stare at the other two bills, too afraid to open them. If I use the money that I just earned I won't be able to buy Graham his hockey stick.

"I'm done, Mommy!" Graham proclaims. He walks towards me and wraps his arms around my legs.

I smile gently down at him. He's been clingy lately ever since I decided to take a double shift at the diner and leave him in that daycare till 8pm, but if I don't pick him up the couple that lives a few doors down usually offer to watch him any time, maybe cause they don't have any kids of their own. The Schuesters are nice folks though. Sighing, I begin to think of the numbers again. It's hard enough that I have to pay for that day care and the bills, but he'll be starting school next year and I'm not sure how I'll be able to pay for the tuition. I might have to pick up another job…

"Why don't you play with your toys?" I suggest while I turn my attention back to the egg. "I'm still cooking, Graham."

"Okaaay." He lingers a while longer before hopping over the makeshift living room in the middle of the apartment.

Our place isn't big to be honest. It's made for one person because it's just a flat with a 'bathroom' in the left corner and the kitchen is right across from it. The bed that Graham and I share is in the far right corner. It's a king size so it sort of takes almost half of our apartment. It's sad, but at least we have a roof under our heads.

I place the cooked eggs on a plate and begin to cook the bacon. My mind wanders and I can't help but think of looking for another job, perhaps a coffee shop this time. They make good money, I think. I shake my head. Maybe I should be a maid at that Holiday Inn on the other side of the city? No, it's too far from the daycare and Graham gets upset whenever I'm late.

Sighing, I realize that it's going to be tough. I finish the bacon and call Graham to sit at the table. I pop two slices of bread in the toaster and place the plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. I ruffle his hair and walk back to the toaster when the toasts pop out. I toss the bread on the plate and open the fridge to pull out some water and butter.

"Breakfast time!" I present him the fork and butter knife. I twirl around to the cabinet and chuckle when I hear Graham clapping. I pull out two glasses and fill them with water.

"Drink lots of water, Graham Cracker." I order. He doesn't like to drink water a lot and prefers those juice boxes and soda pops. I have to remind him to drink a glass everyday or else he'll be dehydrated and faint while he's playing hockey outside with the other kids like last time.

We eat in silence as usual. I read a copy of the _Chicago Tribune_ while Graham reads the funny's in the comic section. Well he can't read, but he likes to pretend he does just to impress me. I offered to read it to him once and he claims that he can read it himself. I smile at the memory and finish reading about the news. I go all the way to the back to look at the job ads.

"Mommy?"

"Yes baby?" I say without looking up at him.

"Can we go to Minimum Park after?" Graham cutely asks.

I crack a smile and look up. "You mean Millennium Park?" I correct him.

He grins and nods. "I wanna see The Bean!"

"Sure." I agree to the idea. I'm absolutely tired, but I try to spend every waking moment to be with Graham. I don't want him to think that I'm ignoring him, that's just a terrible thought a child would have. I should know, I had those thoughts in my head when I was his age.

Once we finish breakfast we quickly change out of our pajamas to something more presentable. I put my coat on and wrap my scarf around me. Looking down, I see Graham mimicking me, but it seems that he's having trouble with his own scarf. I giggle and bend down to help him. Once he has his yellow scarf, I pull out his blue hat and snuggly put it on his head. He grins and holds out his gloved hand for me to take.

"So your hands won't get cold." He explains, noticing my lack of gloves.

"Genius." I say when I grasp onto it. "Let's head out?"

"Yeah!"

It snowed last night and some plow trucks are currently plowing the snow to the side. I hold Graham's hand tightly, making sure he doesn't wander off to look at the things displayed in the windows. He has the habit of doing that and sometimes so do I. We reach Millennium Park and see a good handful of people there. We walk straight to The Bean. It's Graham's favorite because he loves to look at his reflection on it. He would do silly dances and soon he would convince me to dance along with him.

"I see us!" He cries out in joy and runs towards the giant statue.

"Be careful!" I huff out in annoyance. Sometimes he would just go all willy nilly and it always makes me nervous.

I approach Graham and see him make faces at his reflection. I giggle and say. "You know we have a mirror at home. We could have stayed cozy and made faces in the bathroom."

He turns towards me and says reasonably. "This is more fun!"

"Of course it is." I laugh. I bend down and pick him up so we can look at ourselves together.

"Look!" He points at his hair on the reflection. "I have yellow hair." He then points at mine. "And you have yellow hair! Like bananas."

I nuzzle my face on his scarf and correct him. "Not yellow hair, Graham Cracker. It's called blonde."

"Blonde." He tries the word out. His face scrunches in detest. "I like banana hair."

"Banana hair it is." I let him win.

We walk around the place for while, enjoying our time together. We had to go back to the apartment because it began to snow and I didn't want to trudge back home if the snow reaches up our knees. We stayed indoors for a good couple of hours until I have to go to work. I dress up in my 80s Go go girls outfit and grab Graham's bag. Once I dress him back up, we walk towards the daycare that's a block away. I drop him off and watch him run off to the familiar faces of children. I say goodbye to him and walk off to the diner, which is another block.

I walk inside and greet the other employees that are already working. One of the girls, Tammy, tells me that it's her break. She tosses me her notepad and says that she'll be back in twenty-five minutes. I roll my eyes and walk over to a couple that just walked in. I smile brightly and greet them in a preppy voice. I show them to their seat and walk off to let them decide what they want to eat.

"Hey Brittany." Someone says. I turn around and see my boss nodding at me. I smile at her and ask what's up.

She smiles, the kind of smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "I wanna talk to you after your shift."

"Alright." I say, eyeing her strangely. She's usually peppy. "I'll see you at 8 o'clock."

"Sounds good."

I smile one last time at my boss before walking back to the couple and asking what they would like to order. They tell me that they both want burgers and a couple of milkshakes. I wink at them and skip off to the cook to hand them the slip. I serve more tables as time pass. I collet their respective tips and carry on with my business.

When the hand strikes 8, I see my boss by her little manager's office. I approach her and smile timidly. She has never asked me to talk to her before. She steps aside to let me in her office first. I examine the room and see that it's as plain as it can be. Taking a seat, I watch her as she struts her way towards her desk.

She sits down like she's in charge, which is true. But I don't like that attitude of hers, being superior to everyone and thinking that she can do almost anything. I smooth out my tacky skirt and sat up straight. She smiles gently at me and folds her hands.

"Brittany, I have to say that you've been doing an amazing job these past four years." She compliments me.

"Thanks Ms. Tanner." I chuckle modestly.

Her smile soon fades. Her posture slouches subtly, but I notice. I suddenly feel nervous and I can feel the light atmosphere dropping increasingly. Gulping, I keep a straight face while looking back at Ms. Tanner. Her dainty fingers travel to her wrist and begin to play with her silver wristwatch.

"Is there a reason why I'm called in here?" I surprise myself by asking. By her face, I can tell she's impressed by the blunt question.

"Yes actually." She answers smoothly. Her face-hardens when she continues. "There's been budget cuts, Brittany."

My stomach forms a knot and I can feel something crawl up my throat. I force it back down and flicker a tiny smile. "Heh, you can't be serious, Ms. Tanner."

Ms. Tanner shakes her head regrettably. "Brittany, I've been doing the math and I've calculated that we can't afford to keep you, literally."

"B-But this place makes plenty of money!" I frantically defend. "Hundreds of people pay to eat here an-and that's enough for all of the employees!"

Her eyes look soft with remorse, but her face is still stiff. She lets out a deep sigh. "We pay for lighting and the meat, the fries, the veggies, the drinks, the cups, and the repairs that we gotta do. We just have to let you go." She bites her lip and I can tell her rigid composure is breaking. "We're not making enough."

"Ms. Tanner—" Tears well up in my eyes.

"Please, don't make this any harder as it is." She demands coldly. Her eyes go past me, looking straight at the door. "Thank you for your years of service."

She just sits there staring—no not staring but _glaring_ at me to go. I promptly stand up and shoot her a narrow eyed look right back. I fight the tears and storm off. I ignore the other girls asking me why I'm trying and what's wrong. I pass by Janet, who I'm sort of close with and pull her aside. She looks worried, a different kind of expression that she has on instead of the usual blank look. I tell her what happened and her face twists with sorrow and anger. I hug her and she hugs back. I cherish the warmth of a remotely close friend and leave the diner.

The snow is starting up again when I step outside. I look at my old cell phone razor and see the time. It's barely 8:30. My thumb pushes a button and I find myself in my contacts. I look under the S's and press the green button.

"Hello?"

"Emma?" I ask gently.

"Brittany!" Her voice perks up. "Would you like Will and I to pick Graham up?"

"Yeah." I chuckle in the receiver. I stare idly at the snow falling on the pavement. "It'd be wonderful if you guys can."

"We'd love too." Emma replies. I can even hear a smile over the line. "What time will you be coming back home?"

"Maybe till 6 am." I lie. I can't go home and lie in bed for the rest of the night. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah it is, honey." She answers kindly. "But that's a rather late time, Britt."

"I know. I need the money, Em."

"Well, alright. Will and I will go pick Graham at the daycare. Take care, Britt."

"Bye Em." I look down at my feet and move some slushed snow around. "Thanks again and tell Will I said hi and give Graham a kiss goodnight for me."

Emma hangs up and I sigh. I have to find another job right away, just a job to gives me enough to pay rent and maybe they could add a little extra if I work really hard on the first week before Graham's birthday so I can get him that hockey stick. I quickly walk away from the diner and wander around Michigan Ave.

I bite my lip and close my eyes when a gust of wind blows against me. Shivering, I wrap my scarf on tighter around my face. Sometimes I wish I bought those gloves that was on sale. I can feel my fingers turning blue in my pockets. I can't even job hunt properly because I have my head down while walking. I keep going until my feet hurt, gosh how long have I been moving around?

When I feel the wind calming down I look up to see where I am. My eyes narrow as I try to find familiar signs. My heartbeat rises when I realize that I'm lost. Shit, shit, shit. I try to retrace my steps but after some time I think I've been walking in circles. The buildings are dark, no one is outside not even a car. Tired from my excessive power walking I lean against a lamppost. I hastily pull out my phone so I can call Emma again, but a bright light flashes before me. Squinting, I look up from my phone and see a car. A Mercedes Benz that is.

It stops in front of me. I get a bit nervous, thinking that this is it. Am I going to die in a shooting or something? The window rolls down and I see a woman. Relaxing, I timidly approach her. I bend down to have eye level when I see a glint in her eye. I don't know what it is, but I'm curious and too scared to find out.

"Hey." I greet her, maybe I can ask her for a ride home. I look at her face and see that she has features that can describe her as Latina. Her thick, dark hair is down and wavy and her face seems flawless. Her lips are big and red and her eyes seem so dark and mysterious.

She looks at me carefully before nodding like she's impressed. Licking her lips, she talks. "How much?"

"Huh?"

"How much?" She repeats with a little more force.

"I don't..."

Suddenly it hits me. She thinks I'm a hooker. My eyes widen at this realization. Am I dressed like a hooker or do hookers these days dress with a little more clothes on? Do they even come out during snow? Seems too cold to dress up like a hooker during this season. The only thing stuck in my head is that do I really look like a hooker or a modest looking hooker?

"Well?!" She says impatiently.

I jump at her voice. I should say no and tell her that it's all a misunderstanding. I was about to open my mouth when I remembered something. I remember Janet once told me that hookers make a lot of money. I don't know why she shared that information with me, but when I decide to reply to the woman my heart beat gets louder.

"$46." I don't know what a hooker's regular price is, but I should start off low.

"To have you eat me out?" She asks. I watch her get lost in her thoughts before she comes back. "What about sex?"

"$135." I choke out nervously. I want to say a higher price, but I realize that I'm absolutely desperate for money that I just need whatever she can pay.

"Sounds like a good deal." She says mostly to herself. She nods her head over to the passenger seat. "Get in."

The door pops open and I immediately get in. My nerves haven't calmed down yet. I'm still stiff as a rock when I sit in the car. I glance at the woman and see her looking straight at the road, driving off to God knows where. I soon relax when I feel my seat warming up, are these things heated? It feels great! Then I get the idea of placing my freezing hands over the heat that's blasting out of the car vents.

"Must be cold out there, huh?" The woman observes me with a side-glance.

"It is." I pull my hands away from the heat and slide my arms out of my sleeves and cross my arms under my coat. Rubbing my arms I feel little goose bumps forming.

"Mhmm." She acknowledges me.

We drive pass the weird part of town and into a more familiar territory. I relax myself and sink back in the seat, staring at the buildings of shops and restaurants as we pass by them. The woman silently hums when she pulls into a parking garage for a hotel. She parks her car and gets out while I silently follow her. We walk in an elevator and continue our quiet communication.

We hit the top level of the hotel and step out when the elevator doors open. I look around the hallway and look at the expensive artwork hanging on the walls. The woman comes to a sudden halt in which I almost ran into her. She pulls out a card and slides it in the electronic lock. It turns green, signaling the woman to turn the doorknob to open it. We walk in and I freeze when I enter. It's a presidential suite.

"You coming?" The woman calls out from a different room. I didn't even know she kept on walking.

I shake my head and follow her humming. I end up in the presidential bedroom and see the woman taking off her heels. I notice that she's only a few inches shorter than me. Slowly she walks towards me her hips swaying and her eyes looking at every inch of my body. I shiver in anticipation when I feel her slender fingers running down my neck.

"You're a quiet one." She murmurs softly. She unbuttons my coat while I stand there. "A stiff one as well."

"F-First time on the job." I mutter to her with all honesty. My coat drops on the ground and I wait for her to remove something else.

"I can tell." She forms a smirk. "Words of advice, don't dress up like one of the ladies from the 80s."

"I'll try." I briefly smile at her.

She moves her hands behind me and tugs at the zipper near my neck. I breathe heavily and look down at her, getting a better look at her face. Her lips look plumper at a closer view and her make up is done nicely. I can also see a small scar on her left cheek, just a faint one. My eyes linger on her lips, the way her pink tongue constantly pokes out to moisten those lips seems so enduring. They suddenly curl up and I look at her eyes and see a tint of lust.

"This _is_ your first time, huh?" She teases while she pulls down the zipper.

I gasp when I feel air hit my bareback. I look at her intently and see that she wants me to do the same.

"I told you so." I try to smile again.

I place my hands on her hips and tug her coat off like she did with mine. It hits the ground and I fumble with the black belt in the middle of her dark blue dress. Eventually it comes off along with her dress. She stands in her undergarments and the next thing I know I am too.

"Well come on stud." She motions me to the bed. "I'm paying you to sex me up. If you can give me four orgasms I'll even pay you double or triple. Depending on how awesome it is."

I gulp. "Right." I turn around for a second to find the light switch. When my hand rests on it, I turn back towards the Latina woman. This is for the money, I tell myself. If I do well, then I get more money, right? Money equals happiness and right now I need to afford happiness. I turn the lights off and walk over towards her. I get on the bed and gently push her back, hovering over her I can still see her eyes glowing in the dark.

"I'm Santana by the way."

"I'm Brittany."


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Glee ©**

**a/n: just finished it. i have final exams tmrw so i decide to update it before i cram everything in. i'm so tired. there's some mistakes that i'll have to fix later on.**

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I snuggle against something soft. I notice it's too soft to be Graham. Oh no, where's Graham?! Panicking, my eyes snap open to see a pillow in my arms. Sitting up, I look around the place. At first I didn't know where the hell I was until I hear a familiar humming. Santana. My body relaxes once I remember how I got here and _why_ I'm here.

I look over to my right and see Santana, still naked, sitting against the bed frame with a cigar in her hands and a cigar cutter. She glances over me and grunts a good morning. I nod back at her while I watch her swiftly cut the end of the cigar. She looks at me again and nods over to the box of cigars in her lap.

"I don't smoke." I reply quietly while pulling the sheets closer to my chest.

"More for me." She rasps out. The weird thing is that her voice doesn't sound like a smoker's voice. It sounds strikingly different than that it's more seductive and alluring.

"Thanks for last night, Brittany." She says out of the blue. Her cigar fits snugly between her lips while she whips out a lighter. She quickly lights the butt of the cigar and tosses the lighter back in the cigar box. Reaching over, she picks up the box and gestures at it at me one more time before placing it on the dresser.

"You're welcome." I mutter back.

She closes her eyes and tilts her head back, opening a corner of her mouth to release a ring of smoke. When it reaches the top of her head, it almost looks like a halo. A faint smile graces her lips and all I do is gawk at how beautiful she looks. She definitely looks like an angel. I was going to ask her how she did that when a flash of green blinds me from the view.

"Wha…"

"Here."

"What is this..?"

"Your pay." She says like it's the most obvious thing on earth.

I take the money out of her hands and stare at it like I don't even know what to do with it. Santana smirks at me when I begin to count it: 100, 200, 300, 400. $400?! I look at Santana and give back 300 of it. She merely shakes her head and pushes the money away.

"Last night I said the price is $135 or something like that." I reason with her. I didn't want to take too much money. She could do a lot with this!

Santana chuckles. I notice that she looks really cute when she smiles like that. Her nose does a little crinkle that reminds me of Graham. "And I said if the sex is awesome I'll pay you more." She removes the cigar from her mouth and holds it between her fingers. "And blondie, I must say it was amazing."

I perk up. "Really?" I knew that I was good at sex because of my experience but I have to admit, it's been a while since I had sex with anyone. I'm glad that I'm not rusty.

"Yeah." She smiles softly at me before putting the cigar back in her mouth.

That happened last Wednesday. Today is Tuesday and I come back home jobless once again. I went to apply at four different places this morning. The first one is a Starbucks, the second is a cashier at Walgreens, another is a waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings, and the last one is a bartender. They all said that they'd see if there's a spot open and that they'll contact me when they find a position. Those people better not be lying. I check my phone and see that I have twenty minutes until I have to pick Graham up from the daycare. Groaning, I decide to take a small nap on the bed.

I drop my tired body on the mattress and take a deep breath. I haven't stopped thinking about the night with Santana. Sometimes when I'm alone like this the memories of that night flood back in me. Great, I'm not sleepy anymore. Thanks a lot Santana.

"Santana." I repeat, this time out loud.

It's a nice and unique name that I've never heard before. I love how exotic it sounds when it rolls off my tongue. When I close my eyes, I can still feel the twitches that she does when I enter her and how perfectly molded her body is against mine. I've never felt like this before. When my skin made contact with hers, I swear I felt a spark between us. I can tell she felt it too when I saw how big her eyes got and how she shivered visibly under me. If I close my eyes and think deeply, I can hear her cry my name out in pleasure.

A grimace falls upon my lips. I shouldn't be thinking about her like this. She's a stranger and a no good person who pays people for sex. She should be ashamed of herself for doing that! Biting my lip, I fight back tears and bury my face in my pillow. I'm no better than her. I agreed to her offer instead of just telling her that it's all a mistake and that she should relieve her frustrations herself! It's called masturbating for a reason.

I roll on my back and stare at the ceiling. But she seems so nice and harmless, like she could never hurt a fly. Hell, she even paid me enough to pay the rent and the bills! I wanted to cry when I got out of that hotel because of the amount of money she gave me. I even like _talking_ to her even though we barely exchange words. My phone rings in my pocket and I take it out. I see a little alarm on the screen, the time to pick up Graham alarm.

I bounce off the bed and onto my feet to dress up in my coat and scarf. I leave the apartment building and walk to the daycare. Today is a lot nicer than it has been the past few days. The sun is out and the winds aren't even blowing. I go inside the daycare and sign Graham out. While I wait for him I stare at the paintings that the daycare ladies hanged up.

"Mom!" Graham squeals from the little coat racks outside the playroom. He grabs his coat and runs towards me with open arms.

I squat down and hug Graham tightly. "Hey Graham Cracker."

"Mom, mom, mom!" He moves around in my grasp before I let him go. "I made this picture with Maggie!" He then holds up a pierce of paper with crayon drawings. "I drawed me and you there!" Pointing at two blonde stick figures. "And Maggie drawed the rainbows and the dog in the back."

"Wow!" I exclaim with enthusiasm. I take the picture out of his hands and examine it closer. "So cool, baby. We can hang it on the fridge when we get home."

"Yeah!" He giggles and carefully folds it so it can fit in his pocket. His small hand grabs mine and we leave the place.

When we get outside on the sidewalk, Graham and I swing our hands back and forth while we talk about what we did today. I tell him how I'm looking for another job (I still haven't told him I lost my other job) and he talks about how he's going to own a rabbit farm someday. I question him about that and he simply states that he loves rabbits. I roll my eyes at him. Every week he always picks a different animal to love.

"Can we eat at Panera Bread?" He points at the café.

I look over at the building and nod my head. How can I say no to food? Saying no to food is like saying no to go to heaven or saying no to oxygen. We go inside and I tell Graham to go wash his hands before he picks a table for us to sit in. I wait in line until it's my turn. I tell the man running the cash regisiter that I'll have two Chicken Paninis and a toasted cinnamon crunch bagel along with a large Coca Cola.

I was about to go find Graham when I accidently bump into someone. They must have not put the lid on the cup because some of it spilled on my arm. Might I add that the coffee is scolding hot.

"Shit!" I hiss out. I can see the steam rising from the coffee on my arm.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." She apologizes. "Let me help you clean that off."

I look up and my eyes widen.

"Brittany?" Santana suddenly smiles. Oh gosh, why is she smiling and why am I blushing?

I manage to pull off a grin. "Wow, hey Santana." She looks really glad to see me. That's kind of weird.

"Damn." She laughs while she gets a napkin to wipe the coffee off my arm. "What a small city."

Really small, I think to myself. I thank her for wiping the hot coffee off while she merely shrugs with all modestly as usual. I notice that she looks cute when she does that. Cute? Why did I think of her as cute?! I want to run away but at the same time I want to stay with her to chat. I feel like the more she talks the more I get addicted, just like her nicotine filled cigars. I'm addicted to her voice and I need more so I take the chances like any other person who gets hooked on a drug.

"So what brings you here?" I lamely ask. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Santana shrugs again. She lifts up her coffee and answers. "Coffee break. You?"

"Lunch." I say and point out that they just made my food and are currently waiting for me to pick them up.

Santana looks over the counter and sees three plates and a drink. She turns back to me and asks. "Need help there?"

"I'll think I'll manage." I quickly say. I don't want her seeing Graham. She might think I'm an unfit mother and report me. I saw it once on TV. "Besides you're on break, you probably need to get going to your job or something."

Santana smirks. "You're right, blondie. But first." She presents me her open palm. "Can I see your phone?"

I stare at her weirdly. "Why?"

"So I can give you my number?" She questions and chuckles at the same time. "You can even see mine." She pulls out an iPhone 5 while I pull out my out of date razor.

I blush with embarrassment when I hand her my phone. She doesn't glance at it twice before punching in the numbers to save in my contacts. I do the same and return her phone.

"Why do you want my number?" I ask her curiously. I open my contacts and see Santana's name. Santana Lopez sounds fitting.

Santana looks up from her phone and says. "What if I want another night with you?"

My eyebrows shoot up. Another night? "Wait what?"

She nods her head. "You heard me. I'll even pay you what I paid last time."

I don't know what to say. I need the money, I know I do. Graham deserves the best and without a job I can't get him what he needs or wants. Hesitantly I nod back at her. "Alright."

"Brilliant." Santana grins. "I'll text you tonight." She turns around and begins to walk away.

"Bye Santana." I wave when I see her walk off to the door.

I was about to leave the spot I was standing on when I hear Santana say. "Clever on keeping the last name a secret, Brittany! I should have done the same."

I chuckle at her comment and carry the food over to Graham. He picked out a window seat and is currently staring out the window before he saw me. I place the plates on the table and tell him to dig in. He tears his attention away from the window to his food.

"Thanks Mommy." He grins while picking up his sandwich. Graham opens his mouth and takes a huge bite.

"Whoa!" I laugh and pick up a napkin. I reach over to him to wipe some sauce off his mouth. "Careful there buddy."

"So hungry!"

After a fulfilling lunch, we walk around the city for a few hours before heading back home. When we get back, Graham makes his way to the bed and turns the small TV on. I smile at him before making myself comfortable on the bed next to him. We watch a couple hours of Phineas and Ferb before I stare off into space.

My wanders back to Santana. She looked really cute today with black pencil skirt and matching blazer over her scarlet blouse. I wonder what she does for a living, maybe a lawyer. Her hair looked really soft as well. I almost reached out just to feel it, which is really weird. But she's so pretty.

I jump when I hear my phone beep. I flip it open and see a message from a Santana Lopez. I read the message and it says that I have to meet her at the hotel at 9pm tonight. At the end of the text the address is there. I stare hard at the screen. This is it. Another night with the mysterious woman just so I can get money. I feel so… dirty.

"Hey Graham?"

"Mhmm?" He hums, his attention solely focused on the TV show.

"How do you feel about spending time with Will and Emma tonight?"

Graham almost does a 360 with his head when he heard the question. He grins excitedly and bounces. "Really?! Emma makes the best chocolate chip cookies!"

"Yeah." I smile. I quickly give the Schuesters a call and inform them that I will be leaving for 'work'.

Graham loves going over to the Schuesters because they're place is bigger than ours and there's more stuff to do. I'm so glad that I met them when I first moved in here. I get off the bed and quickly prepare an overnight bag for Graham. When I finished, I walk with him a few doors down to the Schuester's place. Knocking on the door, it opens and reveals a man in his late thirties. He grins when Graham attaches himself on his leg.

"Thanks for watching him Will." I say with a smile of relief.

Will chuckles and affectionately rubs Graham's head. "We love having Grammy over. Right honey?"

"Absolutely." Emma appears besides Will. She tilts her head to the side and smiles. "We'll be baking a lot tonight."

"Yes!" Graham cheers making everyone else laugh at how cute he's being.

I bend down and promise. "I'll be back tomorrow, 'kay Graham Cracker?"

Graham nods. "Bye Mommy."

I tug a smile and lean down to kiss his forehead. "Have fun."

I leave the apartment complex and wave my arm for a taxi. Once I get one, I tell the man driving the address and sit there quietly until I make it to the hotel. I pay the driver and look up at the hotel. It's the same one since that night. Taking a deep breath, I walk inside and talk to the man running the desk where I can find a Santana Lopez. He smiles and tells me that he's been expecting me. Creeeepy.

He tells me that it's up on the top floor and is room 285. I thank him and walk over to the elevators. When I get inside one of them, I press the top floor button and wait until I get there. After a minute, I make it to the top and begin to search for room 285. When I walk down the halls, I send Santana a quick text that I'm here.

I finally find her room and I give the door a light knock. I don't hear anything for the first few seconds so I decide to knock again but before my fist touches the door, it opens. I see Santana behind the door, smiling brightly at me. I manage to actually smile back, glad to know she's happy to see me.

"You came." She grins. I notice that she changed into jeans and a black v-neck.

I nod bashfully.

Santana chuckles at my silence and opens the door wider. "Come on in."

I follow her inside and close to the door. I see Santana wander into the kitchen area and I follow her closely like a lost puppy. I look around and see the same beautiful decorations from the night before. I look back at Santana and see her rummaging through the freezer until she pulls out a bottle of wine and two wine glasses.

I smile amusingly. "You keep wine glasses in there?"

"Huh—Oh!" She closes her eyes and chuckles. "Uh, yeah I do. I like my glasses cold. I hope you don't mind. It's a weird habit I picked up from my Dad when I was younger."

"Totally understand." I reply as I walk towards her. I take a glass from her and my fingers burn from the cold. "I picked up this habit from my Mom where I have to count every five steps whenever I'm super nervous, like when I have to give a speech."

"That's funny." Santana lets out a small laugh and shows me the bottle she pulled out. "White?"

"Perfect." I grin.

She pops open the bottle and pours me a glass. She pours herself some wine as well and then we walk over to the living room. I sit down by the armrest and she sits on the other side, leaving a cushion distance between us. I watch her take a sip and mimic her quietly. The silence is unbearable.

"This wine is great." I comment awkwardly, raising the wine glass just to show her how I appreciate it.

Santana smiles and looks at me like she wants to do something else. Her tongue sticks out and licks her lips just like the first time I saw her. "It is." She answers me. "This is a gift from a friend. She went to Rome this summer and brought me a little something back."

"Rome?" I'm impressed. The only place that I've gone that's out of the country is Canada but I didn't go too far, I was actually right by the boarder. "That's amazing."

Santana laughs and shakes her head. "Tell her that. She went there purely for business and hardly got to sight-see."

"That's a shame." I tell her. "I would have skipped the meetings and stuff and just go see Rome-y stuff."

"Rome-y stuff?" She giggles the last word. "That's adorable."

"Adorable?" I smile. "So you think I'm a adorable, huh?"

Santana keeps giggling so she brings her hand up to cover her mouth. She nods at me before taking another sip of wine. "Very."

"Well." I take a step further. "I think you're adorable too."

Her smile stretches even more. "Really?"

She sits a bit closer and I do the same so that there is practically no space between us. "Yup."

Santana looks around for a second before looking straight at me. Her teeth bits her lower lip in a seductive way and her knee brushes against mine. My lips tug a smile before I finish my drink and place it on the coffee table in front of us. She places her hand on my arm and teasingly strokes it.

"What else do you think of me?" She finally asks. She places her drink on the table and puts her other hand on my knee. "Well Miss Brittany I-Don't-Give-Out-My-Last-Name?"

"I think." I dwell. My mind thinks of so many adjectives for that woman that I decide to be bold and say. "That…You are kind of sexy."

"Kind of?" She grins cutely and gets closer to my face. "I should show you that I'm not just 'kind of sexy' but absolutely and hundred percent sexy."

"You should really show me." I mutter when I close my eyes and get closer to her lips.

"I should." She whispers and plants her lips against mine.

I love her lips. They're so soft that I can kiss her for days and not get tired. I pull away from our kiss so I can breathe but she keeps kissing my neck. Her lips land on my jaw line and traces it. I moan and tangle my fingers within her hair.

"Bed." She kisses my neck. "Room." Then sucks on a pulse that drives me wild.

"Right." I breathe out. We both get up and race to the bed.

Santana takes a second to open the door but at the same time I twirl her around to face me. I slam her against the wall and attach my lips on her collarbone. She moans my name and hooks her leg around my torso. Her hands wander across my chest, cupping my breasts underneath my shirt. I love the taste of her and how smoothly my tongue glides against her skin. I blindly open the door for us and pick Santana up. I carry her to the bed and drop here there.

"Easy there tiger." She grins while own her back with her elbows propping her up. "We have all night."

I grin back at her and help take off her shirt. I groan out when I see her chest in the pink lacy bra. I wonder if she has the same panty design. Santana suddenly grabs onto my hand and makes me land on top of her. Her hands slip under my shirt, pulling it up to remove it and tossing it to the corner. She buries her face against my chest and unhooks my bra. I close my eyes and wrap an arm around her neck when I feel her suck on my nipple. She slips out of her jeans and throws them somewhere.

"Oh god." I cry out. My hips start grinding against her thigh and I feel a heat of rush running through my veins.

"I have something that to ask you." She starts talking while she slides my jeans off. Santana suddenly flips us over making me look up at her.

"What is it?" I huff. I'm a bit sexually frustrated right now.

She licks her lips and stares at me. "You're my favorite."

My heart stops for a moment. "What?"

Santana leans near me to clarify what she meant. "You're my favorite…y'know prostitute."

"I'm no—_Oh!" _Shit. I never told her that I'm not one of those people.

Santana hums quietly and plays with the elastic band from my underwear. "And since you're my favorite that's why I asked for your number." She slides her warm hand down. "So I can call you whenever I want."

My eyes roll back and I breathe heavily. I feel her fingers graze against my clit and I twitch underneath her. Santana's other hand holds mine and raises it above my head. I feel so exposed in front of her and I want to cover myself in shame, but I'm loving the feeling of being over powered by her. It's making my body want her even more.

"Sounds good?" Santana purrs on top of me. Her two fingers circling my clit, making me groan and beg for more.

"Good." I whimper as I close my eyes. "Please Santana…I need more."

"More?" She licks her top lip and teasingly pushes a finger in me. "I'll even continue to pay for your services."

Her grip on my hands is strong. She knows that I want to turn the tables and leisurely tease her back, but I can't move. I'm consumed by the feeling of pleasure, making me weak to my knees. I'm at her mercy now and there's nothing I can do until she gets me off.

She shoves another finger in me and I squirm at its intrusion. Santana chuckles above me and comments. "You look so vulnerable, Brittany. It's _such_ a turn on."

"Shit." I moan when I feel her fingers pumping fast and hard. My hips buck along with her fingers when they re-enter me. "Oh god Santana."

"No god here." She whispers in my ear. "You're mine now."

I can feel my orgasm coming. It's almost there. I push my head back, getting ready for me to come when all of the sudden everything stops. My eyes snap open and I glare at Santana.

"Santana!" I snarl at her.

She's unfazed by my newfound bitterness. Santana eyes me hungrily and runs her tongue along with her two fingers covered in my secretions. She moans softly when she pushes her fingers in her mouth. Her hips slowly begin to move against mine and her grip on my wrists loosens. This is my chance.

My hands grasp onto her should and I move our bodies. I straddle her and see that she's underneath me. Santana's dark locks are everywhere and her hands on her sides by her head. My eyes meet hers and I see the soulful darkness in them and I can feel an energy running through me. I have to have her.

"No one else can have you." I breathe out as I watch my hands trail all over her body. I stop at her breasts, cupping them roughly and pinching her nipples. Santana mewls and closes her eyes tightly.

"Only you." She whimpers to me.

My other hand wanders south from her breasts. I slip my hand underneath her panties and shove two fingers in her. Santana cries in ecstasy while she arches her back. This time I grin when I slowly begin to pump out of her.

"Brittany!" She cries out. "Mhmm, fuck yes!"

I lean down and attack her neck with my lips. I kiss her everywhere but I soon stop when I notice how she reacted when my lips touch a certain spot. I suck gently and feel her move against my body. I can feel her cunt squeeze my fingers and in that moment I knew that she's close.

I push a third finger in her and pump faster. My head is filled with her smell and her cries. Her raspy voice is sexier than ever when she's in that high. It's delicious and I can get use to her moaning out my name. My lips crash against hers. Her teeth scrap against my lower lip and I open my mouth for her tongue to slip in.

"Santana." I groan against her.

"Fuck me, Brittany." Santana says with bliss. "I'm so close."

Her lips meet mine again and we wrestle our tongues for dominance. Her walls around my fingers tighten and soon a rush of liquid covers my fingers. Santana moans so loud that I'm sure all of Chicago heard her. My tongue runs against her neck as my wet fingers brush against her sensitive clit. Santana shudders at the touch and I smile. She's at _my_ mercy now.

"You're so getting more money." She mutters under her breath.

"Easy there tiger." I chuckle while I squeeze her breast. "We have all night."

Santana closes her eyes and smiles at the familiar words. "We do, Miss Brittany."


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Glee ©**

**A/N: Final exams are over! Not much Brittana interaction but just bare with it _s'il vous plait_**

* * *

I haven't seen Santana for a week and a half. I mean, it's no big deal but she makes me feel weird. Not bad weird but good weird. She seems gentle despite having that hard exterior. After sex she would want me to spoon her or her spooning me. I didn't even picture her as a cuddler. Does she treat prostitutes with kindness? Cause that seems odd. Her touches are soft and soothing and she has this warm aura that I'm so drawn to. She texts me sometimes during that week and sometimes I would reply and sometimes I would ignore it. Santana can't be good for me. She's a drug, a bad drug. I need to detach myself from her.

"Graham, come one!" I call out from the hallway. "We're going to Grandpa's and we're going to be late!"

"Coming!" Graham huffs and runs out the apartment while holding something in his arms. "Mommy, I finally found Philip!"

I bend down on my knees to fix his scarf. Looking in his arms, I see an old raggedy old plush toy of a dog. A button eye is missing and a small tear is seen with some stuffing poking out of its right leg. A small smile comes up on my face when I realize who it use to belong too.

"We need to fix Philip up." I say to him, standing back up and patting his shoulder.

"Can we fix it?" He cheers while grabbing my hand. "Yes we can!"

I roll my eyes and tug him closer when we got outside our building. I hail a cab and tell him the address to my Dad's place. We get inside and the car starts moving. Graham and I stay in silence while the cab driver's radio fills the air. I look down at Graham and see him playing with Philip. I wonder where he put that thing. I remember when her first lost it. He wouldn't stop crying for hours.

Hmm. Speaking of Graham, his birthday is coming up and I still haven't found a job. I wince at the thought of it. I have the rent paid and it won't come again until next month and the food is stocked in the fridge. I have to pay the daycare bill and soon the temperature will drop even lower and I'll have to crank up the heat at night so there's the bill for the heater…

"Mommy, we're here!" Graham points and grabs my arm, shaking it furiously which made me focus back on reality.

I look out the window and see my old house. I smile and pay the cab driver before opening the door. I help Graham out of the cab and suddenly he bolts straight to the door. I laugh and slam the door close. Walking near the front door, I see my son furiously pushing the doorbell excitedly.

"Whoa calm down, Graham Cracker." I shake my head while ruffling his dark blonde hair.

The door opens and I see my Dad grinning from ear to ear. Graham yells out his name happily and latches himself on Dad's leg. Dad and I share a laugh at how adorable Graham is being. Dad ushers us in and closes the door before any wind chill can come inside. I look around the living room and see that he hasn't moved anything around since the last time we've visited. Though my Dad looks like he changed a bit. His bright blonde hair is now dull and turning gray. He still looks fit but his face is aging noticeably.

"Britty!" Dad greets warm-heartedly, his arms open wide for me to jump in.

I grin and embrace my old man. "Hey Daddy."

"How's my little trooper?" He asks. He pulls away from the hug but keeps his arm slung around my shoulders. "And my favorite grandkid?"

"Awesome Grandpa." Graham grins. He hugs Philip closer to his chest and runs to the kitchen, knowing that his Grandpa probably made some food.

Dad chuckles and looks at me curiously. "So how _is_ my trooper doing? You haven't visited in months." His face turns into feign sadness. "I was beginning to think that my baby girl forgot about me."

I giggle and bury my face on his shoulder. "I'm just busy and tired Daddy."

"Should take a nap, Britty Bee."

"You know what I mean."

Dad looks at me affectionately and rubs my head. "I know what you mean, Britty. I've told you before and I'll tell you again: Why don't you guys just stay with me? It's awfully lonely here without you guys."

I sigh and shrug. Dad smiles briefly at me before joining Graham in the kitchen so he won't mess things up. Truth is, I don't want to stay with Dad. Don't get me wrong, I love my him, I do. But I feel like I have to prove to him and everyone else (whoever they are) that I'm fit to raise a kid on my own. I don't know why and the reason for it. But maybe it's because of the bullying I got when I was younger. I wasn't a popular child and had trouble with school. Just thinking about it makes me feel depressed. I close my eyes a take a deep breath. Whatever, it's in the past.

I slowly follow his trail but my eyes stick to the walls. Countless family photos are everywhere. Each time I look at one I smile at the memory. I stop in front of one picture by the kitchen. It's not old but not recently new. It was the day of my high school graduation. I'm in the middle with my red gown and cap, my older brother next to me while Mom is next to him and Dad is right besides me. My brother's fiancée was the one who took the picture. I can still remember that day, the laughter, the tears of joy, and the feeling of a bright future ahead of me. I wonder what my life would have been if life and fate hadn't worked together to stop me from going to college to do what I've always wanted to do.

"Mommy?"

I look down and see Graham with his hair all messy and clutching Philip so close to his chest that I'm sure that it will pop off soon. I get on my knees and start fixing his hair. Graham giggles and sticks his tongue out at me. Suddenly I notice a few crumbs on the corner of his mouth.

"Did Grandpa give you cookies?" I ask despite knowing the answer already.

Graham just grins devilishly and says nothing. I giggle this time and stand back up. "Come on, buddy." I place my hand behind his back. "Let's go see what Grandpa is making."

"Britty!" Dad cheers by the stove when we walk in. "I'm making some homemade clam chowder!"

I grin. "Oh gosh! I haven't had a clam chowder in forever!"

"Clam chowder?! With real clams?!" Graham groans. "Ewwww, that sounds so icky! Grandpa I want pizza!"

Dad gives me the _look_ and smirks. I chuckle and watch my Dad squat down in front of my son to give him the talk about how humanity should start training themselves to eat anything just in case there's a zombie apocalypse. I think he gave me the same talk when I was younger and complained about meat loaf. But instead of using zombies he used the example of vegans. Huh, weird.

I look back down at Graham when Dad stood back up and turned his attention back to the chowder. Graham has this shocked look on his face. His mouth is wide open and his eyes seem like that won't close. I shoot a glare at my Dad who simply looks smug.

"I think it's time for a nap." I soothingly tell him while picking him up.

After putting Graham down in my room, I walk back in the kitchen to find Dad cutting something up for the chowder.

"Really?" I sigh dramatically. "You just _had_ to replace vegans with zombies."

"Hey." Dad looks up and shakes the knife at me. "It worked. That boy will be eating my special Pierce amazingly awesome homemade clam chowder."

"Right." I grin at him. I walk towards the island counter and sit on the stool across from my Dad.

"How's the 80s diner?" He asks curiously. "I heard that place is booming."

I groan loudly. "If they're booming then why the hell did I lose my—" I shut my mouth before I tell him more, but I think he knows what I was about to say.

"What?"

"What?"

I stare at my Dad for a whole minute before he says. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Were you about to say that you lost your job?"

"Uh.."

"Britty!"

"I'm sorry!" I exclaim. "It was out of no where! I don't even know I was fired! I'm a hard worker too, y'know this Dad!"

Dad takes a deep breath and places the knife on the table. "When did you lose it?"

"Two weeks ago?" I squeak.

Dad's eyes got big. "Are you looking for another one?"

I nod my head furiously. "Of course! I applied to Starbucks and Walgreens but they didn't call!" I sigh loudly and bury my face in my hands. I refuse to tell him how I managed to earn a few hundreds from an acquaintance.

Through the cracks of my fingers I see Dad lost in thought, after a few seconds he resurfaced. He suddenly grins at me and snaps his fingers. "I got it Britty Bee!"

"What?" I ask while sliding my hands down my face to my lap.

"I know a place that needs a waitress." Dad says to me. He picks up the knife and goes back to chopping. "It's this bar on North Michigan Ave and it's near your apartment! Isn't that convenient?"

"I don't know, Dad." I hesitate. I pick up a potato chip from the bowl and toss it in my mouth. "Bars filled with college kids aren't my style."

"No, no, no!" He chuckles. "This is just a casual place. Nothing crazy. It's awesome."

"How do you know?" I crack a smile.

Dad rolls his eyes and chuckle. "I've been there a few times with the guys. Speaking of the guys, my friend Burt, his son knows the guy that owns the place. It's nice."

"I could check it out." I say just to get him off my back.

"Coolio." Dad grins.

"No one says coolio."

"No one but me! _Boo-yah!_"

"Oh my god."

By the time Graham woke up the food was done. We sit down like any other family and eat. Graham is full of stories as well as my Dad. Both were swapping them faster than Christmas presents. I sit there and listen with a smile. I've listened to all of Dad's tall tales. He's a storyteller and tends to repeat some stories that I've heard when I was younger. Graham on the other hand loves re-hearing those stories and he certainly likes to impress my Dad with his own stories so he tends to stretch it from the truth. Like Grandfather, like son.

"And then I jumped all the way up to the top of the tree." Graham explains, swinging both his arms up in the air. "And I saves the cat! Maggie even gave me a kiss on the cheek!"

"A kiss!" Dad gasps playfully. He turns to me and points at Graham. "Britty are you aware that your son is kissing girls now!"

"Am not!" Graham blushes and looks at me. "Mommy!"

"Graham." I feign seriousness. "You have a girlfriend and you didn't tell me about it?"

"Mommmmmm!" Graham groans.

After lunch Dad says that he has to go visit a friend that is only in Chicago until Thanksgiving. He claims that it's some close elementary friend that he hasn't seen since I was born. Graham and I wave goodbye at my Dad as the cab takes off. We make it back to the apartment and just hang around. I sort through the mail while Graham watches cartoons on the bed.

Once the mail is all organized, I pull out my laptop from under the bed. I press the on button and wait for it to load. I wonder how all those other kids from my grade school are doing since my Dad apparently keeps track of his. I had friends but not the kind of friends that I would want to hang out with all the time. I wonder how that kid Tyler O'Brian is doing or that one girl Tracey Logan who is kind of creepy and stalkerish when it came to her crushes.

When my laptop is fully loaded I go to Google Chrome and search the bar on North of Michigan Ave. I notice the name for it. It's called The Pub. Well isn't that original.

"Mommy?"

"Mhmm?"

"Can we dance in front of The Bean again?"

I laugh. "I don't know baby. Mommy has to find work."

"Cause you lost your job?"

I whip my head at Graham with my eyes looking wide and in panic. Graham just innocently looks at me.

"I came down after you tuck me in." He confessed nervously. I see him fiddling around with Philip in his arms. "I didn't mean to wake up early, honest. Philip had to use the potty."

I flicker a small smile. He thinks that he's in trouble for waking up too early from his nap. I shake my head and gesture at him to come close. Graham crawls towards me and sits in between my legs. I run my hand through his hair and pull him into an embrace. My cheek rests on his head while I hug him tighter as if I'm about to lose him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I don't have a job." I croak out. My throat feels too rusty to be used and my eyes sting like someone sprayed something in them.

"It's s'okay." He replies gently. I think he can tell that my walls are breaking down. His small hand picks up mine and he places his hand over it, comparing the two sizes.

"I probably won't get your birthday gift." I sniffle. I can feel my tears swelling in my eyes and its burning. My face buries itself in Graham's hair because I'm too ashamed to see his face full of disappointment.

"Mommy." He says quietly. Graham detangles himself from my hug and turns himself around to look at me.

Graham has this serious face on that I've never seen before. He looks so much like his father that it's scary. It's making me feel nostalgic and sad.

"It's s'okay." He says to me confidently. "Cause you know when my birthday is?"

I nod and say. "It's November 28, Graham Cracker."

"And it's Thanksgiving too." Graham suddenly grins and bounces on his butt cutely.

I crack a smile and giggle. "Yup."

Graham suddenly pounces me and rests his head against my stomach. "I'mma be having so much fun on my birthday! Cause-Cause I'll be turning 5 an-and I'mma still have a gift."

"Yeah?" I gently speak. "What's your gift?"

He looks at me straight in the eye. "Being with you and Grandpa duh. Cause I'm so thanksful of you guys and you guys are my presents and Will and Emma too!"

I understand what he's telling me. Graham is saying to me that it doesn't matter if I get him a gift or not. I'm his gift because I know that he knows that the gift of family is better than nothing because he's so thankful for us. I smile gratefully at Graham and kiss his forehead.

"When did you get so smart?" I teasingly ask while bopping his nose.

"I got my smarty-pants from you." Graham giggles.

* * *

"So it's…" I look up from the piece of paper and grin. "Here!"

Yesterday after my talk with Graham I had the motivation to find a job fast. I know he's saying that he doesn't need a gift but as mother it's an instinct to try to give the best for your kids so they can have a better life than you or that's what my Mom told me. So here I am, standing in front of the bar called The Pub. I walk inside and see a few people in there. I assume that they're the employees cleaning up the place before it opens at 6.

"Oh sorry Miss." A man dressed like his from a magazine says to me. "But we don't open for another few hours."

"Oh no, no!" I smile while shaking my head. "Uh I heard that you guys are in need of another waitress so yeaah…" Smooth Brittany so smooth I sarcastically thought.

The man's eyebrows shoot up and stares at me for a second before breaking into a smile. "Really? That's fantastic! Let me take you to the manager. I'm Kurt by the way." His hand extends to me.

I grasp onto it and give it a squeeze. "I'm Brittany."

Kurt smiles and leads me to the back. There I see a door that says manager. Kurt opens it without knocking and tells the person inside that I'm here to be the new waitress. The door opens wider and I see a good-looking guy with a huge mouth. Whoa, that's kind of freaky.

"Hey! I'm Sam Evans." Sam introduces and dives in for a handshake.

"Brittany S. Pierce." I reply and give another handshake. "So yeah, I'm here for the job."

"Awesome." Sam exclaims, clapping his hands together and rubbing them against one another. "Just step inside my office and we can go through a quick interview."

"Sweet." I say and go inside.

I take a seat in one of the cushioned chairs and look at his desk. Sam closes the door and when he sits down he notices that I've been staring at one particular picture.

"Yeah." He grins and lifts the photo up. "That's my girlfriend Mercedes, been together for two in a half years now. She's out of town for some convention in New Jersey."

"Oh?" I seem interested. "What does she do?"

"She's in this company that's trying to sell this hot new invention that they just made." Sam explains and puts the picture frame back down. "So anyway Brittany. Any experience with waitering?"

"Of course." I grin happily. "I worked at the 80s diner for a couple years before I got fired." My voice sort of deflates at the last word. "They couldn't afford to keep me. So budget cuts."

Sam's eyes flash with sympathy and nods. "The economy has been rough lately."

"Yeah. So that's why I'm interested in this. Gotta earn the money."

"True." Sam smiles understandingly. He then asks. "Do you have a criminal record?"

"No…" I stare at him. "Why?"

Sam shrugs modestly. "We take ex-criminals too. So they can have a fresh start in life. We only have one guy so far." He smiles. "So it's okay if you do have one."

"I don't." I assure him.

"Okay. Um what else." Sam picks up the clipboard in front of him and flips some papers. "That's it for you." He drops of the clipboard and grins. "I think we have ourselves a new staff member for The Pub!"

"No way!" I squeal and almost jumping out of my seat to hug him.

Sam chuckles and gives me a few forms. "Just fill these out and when you're done just hand them to me outside. I'm just gonna help out with the other employees."

"Awesome, okay." My smile is so big that I'm sure that it won't fit on my face anymore.

I grab a pen from his desk while Sam gets up and walks out of the office. I fill out the forms quickly but not too quickly where my handwriting looks like chicken scratch. It asks me to fill out the basic stuff like my name, my address, and phone number and emergency contact number, which is Will and Emma's numbers. After a few minutes I finish and walk out of the office to find Sam helping along with the staff by lifting up boxes.

"Brittany!" Kurt calls me out causing multiple pairs of eyes looking at me.

I blush and smile shyly. "Hi."

"Hey Brittany." Sam smiles happily. I approach him and hand him the papers. He shuffles through them and says. "Attention everyone, attention!"

All the employees stop what they're doing and look over at me and Sam. Sam puts his arm around me and pulls me close to him. "Guys this is Brittany S. Pierce. She'll be joining our little family! Starting…Right now!"

"Really?" I stare at him wide eyed.

"Yup." Sam then orders the staff to introduce themselves to me.

"I'm Kurt." Kurt re-introduces himself and winks at me. "Obviously."

"Puck." A man with a mohawk grunts from the back and continues to clean the tables.

"I'm Mike." Another guy grins while holding onto a woman affectionately. "And this is my wife Tina."

"Hey." Tina waves and then explains. "I don't work here but I'm here frequently that I might as well be hired since I help out sometimes." She chuckles along with some others.

A guy with an old Justin Bieber haircut waves and smiles while he walks up to me. "H-Hey." I think he's blushing. "I'm Ryder."

"Hey Ryder." I smile politely.

Sam then moves my attention to a couple people behind the bar. One person has a notepad in their hands while the other is going through the bottles of alcohol.

"That's Finn checking out our booze stock and that chick right there is Sugar." Sam explains to me.

"Sugar?" I repeat the name. That's weird.

"That's my name and don't wear it out!" Sugar exclaims without looking at me.

"And that girl over there sweeping is Marley." Sam says and then whispers in my ear. "Sometimes we forget she's here because she's so quiet. Real nice girl though."

I nod. I didn't even see her there.

"So that's it!" Sam exclaims and pats my back. "Ryder! Can you help Brittany out? Just show her the ropes and stuff till she gets it."

Sam leaves me and walks back in his office. I look around and see the Ryder guy grinning at me. I tilt my head and notice that he seems sort of cute like the next-door neighbor type of guy. Ryder slings a dishrag over his shoulder and leans against the counter.

"So all you gotta do basically is just take orders and give us the in tell here." Ryder explains and pats the bar counter. He then suddenly pulls out a notepad and pen out of nowhere. "After a while you'll start to get to know the drinks by heart."

"By heart?" I smirk and take the notepad and pen out of his hands. "That's pretty sad."

"Oh so sad." Ryder smirks back.

I feel a buzz in my pocket and I realize that it's my phone. I pull it out while Ryder keeps looking at me. I open the text message and see it's from Santana.

_Santana Lopez: Want to meet up later? The usual._

I scoff. I don't need her anymore. I have a real job now so she can just keep her dirty money. I shove my phone in my back pocket and continue to talk to Ryder until the bar opens. Ryder smiles and pats my arm but his touch lingers until he pulls away. He tells me good luck and get ready for a busy crowd. I smile and inhale the fresh air of a new job. Things are looking up.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Glee ©**

* * *

"Two Bud Lights!" I order Finn.

Finn nods at me, bends down and pulls out two ice cold Bud Lights from out of nowhere. I smile and place them on the tray in my hand and walk all the way to the back to give them their drinks. When I got there they were talking about yesterday's game, Bears vs Green Bay Packers. Those two teams always had it out on each other. I wonder why.

Anyway a few days after getting the job, I've been loving it. The tips I get are great and the people here are very welcoming. Sometimes I have to bring Graham with me during the day time hours to clean up the place because Will and Emma can't always watch him and plus Graham has been bothering me to bring him to my new work place. He would sit on the bar stool with crayons and paper and be silent. He's awfully shy with strangers and is very picky towards people. Right now he's pretty much giving Puck and Finn the silent treatment because he thinks they look scary. Especially Puck because Graham claims that he smells weird.

But he loves Sam and the others. Graham would bask in the attention of Tina, Marley, and Sugar. He loves getting compliments from the ladies. Knowing him, he'll probably turn into a ladies man. I better teach him how to treat girls right. Graham also adores Mike and Ryder. They are the only two guys that Graham knows that can actually dance pretty well. One time when I came from the back room I saw Ryder teaching Graham how to dougie. It was so adorable that I actually borrowed Tina's phone and recorded it. Saving that on my laptop!

"Where did you get your dancing genes?" Ryder one day asks.

Graham shrugs and motions him to keep dancing. Sometimes I do wonder where he got all that dancing DNA. Later that day, I had to take Graham to the daycare and I had to walk back to The Pub because we're opening up tonight. It's Saturday and it's usually filled with people just wanting to hang out with their friends or family.

"You're a natural, Britt." Ryder compliments by the bar when I walk towards him.

I shrug and wink. "I was born to do this." That kind of hurt my pride when that slipped out.

Ryder must have sensed this so he decides to change the subject. His hand smoothly runs against his hair and he smiles at me. "So I was thinking that maybe…"

"Britt!" Tina calls out from the door. She's the unofficial hostess here. "A table for three!"

I look back at Ryder and see him sigh deeply and I give him an apologetic smile. He must want to tell me something really important. I wave my pinky at him and walk off to serve the people that just walked in. When I approached them I notice that there's only two of them.

"Table for three?"

"Oh yeah." A blonde woman in a power suit says. "Our friend needed to use the restroom so she'll be right back."

I nod and lead them to our available table. They sit down and I ask what they would like to drink. The woman in the suit says that they'll have a pitcher of beer that's on the tap and a round of tequila shots for the three of them. I glance at the shorter brunette woman and see her tapping away on her iPhone while the other woman is pulling out a Blackberry. I smile at them for a second before leaving.

"A pitcher of beer and three shots of tequila." I shout over at Ryder.

Ryder smirks and expertly throws the tequila bottle in the air, catching it and with one quick dip he fills the three shots and suddenly a pitcher of beer slides over to me with my order. I giggle and thank him for my order. Ryder's cheeks turn a little pink before throwing a wink at me. I roll my eyes at him and walk away. Sometimes that guy can be cute, like a cute little brother and sometimes he can be kinda weird. I go over to the table and see the woman in the power suit still with the shorter woman.

"Here you go ladies." I present the drinks in front of them. "Anything else?"

The woman thinks for a while and sees something behind me. She grunts and say. "Do you need anything S?"

"Nachos?"

I freeze at the voice. The raspy and lulling sound that I've been trying to forget. I turn around and see Santana standing behind me with the same shocked expression. Her eyes large and wide and her face look like she's been thrown off a boat. I open my mouth to say something but nothing escapes me. Santana furrows her eyebrows and slowly shakes her head like she can't believe she's seeing me. I notice that she's wearing a power suit like the other woman but I can tell that she's pulling it off better than her. It looks like it's actually made for Santana. It's perfect.

"Brittany?"

"H-Hey San-Santana!" I blush furiously at my own stutter. Shit, shit, shit. Don't make it obvious Britt!

"You two know each other?" The short woman speaks for the first time.

"I'll be back with your nachos." I cut her off. I take the tray back and smile.

I turn my back from Santana and quickly power walk all the way back to the bar. I can feel her stare burning my back and it stings. My body shivers from her intense gazing, making me want to turn around to look at her but I can't. It's like my head is locked to only look straight ahead. I see Ryder and ask him to make some nachos with everything on it. He flashes the same old smile at me and nods. As he makes my order, I go attend my other tables. I move all around the place and sometimes I subtly glance over at Santana's table. The two other women seem to be talking excessively while Santana is just there looking bored. But suddenly I see her head moving and now her gaze is set upon me. My body freezes and I move my eyes towards somewhere else. After moving from table to table I go back to the bar counter and see Ryder with a basket of nahcos.

"And here's the dip, m'lady." Ryder tosses it on top of the pile of nachos.

"Thanks Ryder." I exhaust out and grab the basket. I spin around and walk a beam-line towards Santana's table.

"Here you go ladies." I place the basket in the middle. "Need anything else?"

"I'm good." The short brunette says while sipping her beer.

"Same." The other woman says. "San?"

Santana just stares at me and just says nothing. I force a smile at her and head back to the other paying costumers. A couple hours pass and people come and go and tips fill my pockets. It's been an interesting night. Just a few minutes ago this one guy got really drunk and asked if Santa was in hell. I calmly had to explain that he's actually saint until Sam and Puck kicked him out of here. When I was about to go over to another table when I suddenly feel a hand on my arm.

"Brittany."

I turn around and see Santana looking very nervous and shy.

"Hey." I greet her. "Can I help you?"

"I-uh-Just wanna know." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Why haven't you replied to me lately."

My eyes got big. "Um."

"I just need a simple answer." Santana states but beneath her tone I can tell there's desperation

My mouth gapes open and I continue to stare at her like some idiot. Santana is expecting an answer and silence isn't good enough. I shake my head and tell her. "Now isn't the best time for questions and answers."

"But soon?" There's the tone of hope in her voice. "Because it's been too long since we…y'know did _it_."

I shiver at what she just said. I can hear some cockiness that irks me. "Of course." I sigh. "We can meet up after work?"

Santana's gears grind in thought. After a split second she nods. "Sure. We'll be staying long anyway."

"Right." I awkwardly say and turn towards the table that I'm about to serve.

I laugh and chat with my coworkers and the costumers until it's 5 am. I smile happily when I realize that the bar is now closing. Sometimes when I take this shift I regret doing so because when I come home to Graham he expects us to go somewhere and play when all I want to do is just collapse in bed and catch up on some sleep. I turn away from my conversation with Tina, Sam, and Sugar when I notice that Santana and the blonde woman are still there in the same booth, the only thing missing is the short woman.

"Britt." Sam nudges me. "Can you tell these lovely ladies that it's closing time?"

"Alright." I sigh and go over to their table.

"Hey Brittany." Santana gives me a sleepy and tipsy smile.

"Hey." The other woman greets me with a sober smirk. "I'm Quinn. Sorry about Santana. She's still a little drunk."

I let out a soft chuckle and nod my head towards Santana. "It's okay. Is she a bit sober enough to hold a conversation?"

Quinn glances over at Santana and see her idly nibbling on French fries. "Of course."

"May I?"

"Go ahead." Quinn slides out of the booth and gives me a hard pat on the shoulder. "Gotta go tend to the Misses."

"You do that." I mindlessly say and sit across from Santana. "Hey Santana."

"Sup Brittany." Her posture is slouched against the chair and her voice sounds very mellow.

I furrow my eyebrows and ask. "Are you alright, Santana?"

Santana exhales slowly and gives me a smile. "Yeah. I'm still a little drunk but a little sober enough to figure out what's going on."

A thin line crosses my lips. "I don't think we should be having our discussion if you're a little—"

"Nah, nah." Santana cuts me off with a slight smirk. "I mean, I can still have a decent convo, Britts."

"Right." I give her a little smile

Act like an adult Brittany, I tell myself. We're both two adults that need to talk things out. Once we sort out our problems I can let Santana go and carry on with our lives.

"How come you never called or texted me back?" Santana almost whimpers. "I mean, our sex was awesome…I don't under…stand."

"Santana." I don't know what to say. I want to tell the truth but something in me tells me that I want to continue what I have with her. She's been so nice to me and makes me feel so wanted. I haven't felt like that since high school. Sure I have Graham that needs me to take care of him but he's too young to take care of me. I love that he needs me but sometimes I want someone else to need me so I can need them back.

"Please? Is it because of the sex? Is it not good enough or the pay?"

"I can't—I can't continue what we have." I roughly begin.

"It's the sex." Santana smacks herself as if it's the right answer.

"No, no." My face instantly heats up. "The sex was amazing."

"Then what?"

"It's because…" I purse my lips together and close my eyes tightly. "I haven't been so truthful."

"Brittany." Santana whines. "This thing that we have is basically no strings attached. You've known this for like weeks! No feelings involved."

"Days." I correct.

"Same thing." Santana slurs and slams her arms on the table. She's acting like a child and it's making me want to giggle. She's a whole different person when she's tipsy like that. It's adorable.

"I just…" Santana lets out a big sigh. "I like the sex we have and I like the company and I like you."

"You don't even know me." I begin to get defensive. My gaze hardens at her lax expression of comfort. "And I don't even know you so you can't grow attached already, Santana."

She's delusional. I knew that we shouldn't be talking about this until she is completely sober! If Santana gets to know me she'll dash out the door when she finds out about Graham. A single mother can't get any action and it's impossible to have a love life when your child is barely 5 and is fit to stay by himself at home. Will and Emma would gladly watch him but I don't want to leave him all the time. I want someone who would want to spend time with me _and_ Graham

"I want to get to know you, Britts." Santana replies softly and reaches over to hold my hands. I can hear the desperation again.

I shake my head and put my hands under the table. "You can't, Santana. Please understand."

"I can't." Santana looks away and licks her lips. "I really like spending time with you."

"It's because of the sex."

"That too."

"Santana." I groan.

Santana looks back at me and says. "I'll pay you more?"

"I don't need your money." I whisper loudly as I lean near her. I glance to the side and see all my co-workers still by the bar, too engrossed in their own conversations to pay attention to anything else. "I have this job now."

Santana scoffs and pushes the basket with a few fries left away and tells me. "You can work both jobs!"

A bubble of anger boils in my stomach. I want to slap her but I have no right. She doesn't know the truth. My hands curl into fists and I whisper dangerously. "I'm not a prostitute."

Santana simply raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'm. Not." I glare right at her. "A prostitute."

Santana's nose crinkles with distaste and her lips curl up. "You're kidding right?"

I slowly shake my head and I watch her smile dissolve into a thin line. Santana sinks back against her chair and stares at me like she's lost. I mimic her actions and stare back at her. She looks so confused like she doesn't know what else to do. Her mouth opens but suddenly closes, too afraid to say anything else. She reminds me of a mouse. Very adventurous when it comes to familiar areas but when revealed with something new she shies away and tries to figure out how to over come the obstacles.

"Heh…" Santana's face twists with something between anger, confusion, and denial. "You can't be serious, Brittany." She glances over to my friends by the bar like I did and leans near me and whispers. "I fucking _paid_ you."

"That night." I slowly begin to explain. "When you found me. It was a mistake. I was lost and I didn't know how I ended near the South side. It was windy and cold and I was just job hunting."

"Who job hunts at 1 in the morning?!" Santana spats out loudly.

I can feel everyone shifting their gazes at us. I suddenly get out of the booth and pulled Santana's arm along with me. Grinning sheepishly at my co-workers, I tell them that we'll be right back. I drag Santana to the back storage room and flip the light switch on. The door behind is closed and here we are in a cramped room.

"Why didn't you at least say you weren't a hooker?!" Santana questioned loudly, her hands on her hips and her dark eyes giving me a piercing glare. Is it wrong to think that she looks hot?

"I needed the money okay!" I exclaim right back in her face. She can see that my face holds embarrassment when I told her that but she just ignores it. That stubborn little...

"Yeah more lies." Santana sneers while she crosses her arms in front of her chest. "You're good at that Brittany."

"The only lie that I told you was me being a frickin' prostitute!" I explode and flare my arms up in the air. She's ridiculous.

"Whatever." Santana says under her breath. Her eyes still throwing daggers right in my face. "Fuck…" She lets out and rubs her face with her hands.

"What?" I stare at her.

Santana shakes her head and stares at her feet. "No need to concern yourself."

I roll my eyes. Santana is just acting like a huge child. Her arms is crossed and her eyes are avoiding contact just like Graham when he got so upset when we couldn't go to Navy Pier this summer because I had to work double time just to get him a new pair of shoes. Santana is probably acting like this because she'll be getting no sex, unless she goes to another woman on the streets.

Speaking of women from the streets. "You don't have any…diseases do you?" I ask her cautiously.

Santana finally glances up at me and gives me a confused look. "What do you…OH! Oh god!" Santana's voice sounds disgusted. "Fuck no! I get myself checked monthly and I _just_ checked myself last week. Do _you_ have anything?"

"No! That's so gross!"

"Listen blondie, you asked me first." Santana huffs and rolls her eyes at me.

Oh thank you god, I think to myself. At least we're both clean. I lean against some boxes and we stay silent like the first time we met. Santana is just staring at meaningless things while I stare at her. She looks nervous now. I wonder what's eating her up.

"Well…" Santana licks her lips and begins. "What do we do now?"

What do we do? My feelings towards her are mixed. I want to continue what we have. She knows that I know we enjoy the sex. But I don't need her money anymore to support myself and Graham though. I have this job at The Pub and it's a lot of fun. But I like having Santana's company. She doesn't know it but sometimes when I stay the night I would hear her singing softly and I love listening to that. I love how she smells and how she gets so gentle with me. But she's just a stranger that's probably willing to drop me like a hot potato when someone better passes by her.

A part of me wants to be her friend or something more but another part is saying no. Just forgive and forget her and carry on with my life.

I decide to answer her with all honestly. "I don't know."

* * *

Santana sighs miserably when she walks out of the bar. Her eyes suddenly burn from the intense brightness from the sun. Shit, she thinks. She didn't know that it was already morning. No wonder Rachel left at early while she and Quinn continued to drink. Her hand dove into her pocket to fish out a pair of sunglasses. Much better, she says to herself.

Santana shoves her hands in her pockets and begins to walk around aimlessly. Right now she has a massive headache and chest pain. She understands why her head is banging a drum because of the drinks but the chest pain is unknown. The pain began when Brittany told her that she isn't who Santana thought she was. There was little relief in Santana's mind because she's glad to know that Brittany isn't fucking other people out there but at the same time she feels stupid for being lied too. It's probably her fault for thinking that Brittany was a prostitute and maybe because she asked Brittany that, it gave Brittany the idea to go along with Santana for the night. She did say to Santana that Brittany needed the money at the time.

Anyway Santana was hoping that Brittany would suggest that they could be friends. She has grown a little attached to Brittany every time they would rendezvous for the night. Santana should of known that Brittany wasn't a prostitute. She's too gorgeous to be on the streets and no offense but a bit clueless. She didn't even know that she's supposed to charge by the hour. Santana could have gotten away with the easy deal but after their first night together, just looking at Brittany while she sleeps made Santana want to give her more than what she suggested.

"I wonder what she's doing right now." Santana asks herself.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Glee ©**

* * *

Another two days of not seeing Santana. Somehow she has this ability to disappear and reappear at the most random. I don't know how to feel about this. I guess you could say I feel relieved, but there's something more to it. Maybe the emotion is content or satisfaction. We could have been friends. I should have said that we could start out as friends. Perhaps that's why her face fell when I answered her, that I didn't know what to do next. I hardly know her and the only intention that I know she has is sex. If I look past that, maybe just maybe I'll see something more than meets the eye.

"Mommy?" Graham calls out from the bed.

I ignore him at first. I'm still sorting out the bills in the kitchen area. The rent will be coming up next month and thanks to my new job I'll be paying it early this year. Reaching over, I grab a few opened envelopes and crumple them into a ball and tossing it over in the recycling bin. I take a look at the other pile of envelopes and see that half of it is junk mail.

"Mommy!"

"Graham Cracker?" I answer while removing the junk mail out of my bill pile.

"What are we having for lunch?" He whines.

Oh right, it's already 2 o'clock and I still haven't made anything. I roll my eyes at my own silliness and get up from the table. Turning around, I open the fridge and see that it's empty. Great, I forgot to go grocery shopping yesterday. I was too busy with Graham to actually do any errands. I slam the fridge door and walk across our apartment to fetch our coats in the corner.

"Where we going?" Graham asks when I help him put his jacket on.

"Well." I zip up the zipper all the way up to his neck. "Since Mommy forgot to do errands we are going out. "

"Why you forgot?"

"Cause we were super busy making our club house."

Graham perks up at the mentioning of the activities that we did. He looks behind him and sees the fort that we made last night still standing tall. I laugh and reach for his hand when we walk outside our apartment. When we get outside I breathe in the outdoor air. Its nice today, I think it's supposed be in the fifties this afternoon. Not bad considering it's Chicago, IL. I swear sometimes I think we're the only state that experiences all the seasons in one week. Last week on Sunday we had a little bit of snow then the next day it melted and it felt like spring. Then all of the sudden on Tuesday it began to get chilly like fall. Weird.

"I like puppies, cats, birds, turtles, magic, Cinderella, unicorns, dinosaurs, pizza, cars, and rope." Graham starts to sing randomly when we start walking. A couple passes by us and gives me a brief smile. I can't blame them Graham is adorable.

"Well I like you and clouds and sun and cuddles." I sing along. I can't have my son to sing himself!

Graham cracks a grin as he looks up at me. "Snow, rain, heat, and leaves those are the things that I like!"

I giggle and pull him close so that he doesn't bump into that man who wasn't watching where he was going. Sometimes I wonder how I manage to dodge all these people. I was pretty clumsy back in high school. I remember that I would sometimes walk into the door because I was too busy texting my friends. Well you know what they say, practice makes perfect.

"Can we dance after?" Graham requests. "Cause remember? Ryder was suppose to teach me how to shuffle today but you're off so we can't go see him!"

I gently smile and lift him up once I see the grocery store just a block away. I should stop carrying him but he's pretty small for his age so this is an exception. "Sorry Graham Cracker. I can't always bring you to work. You always distract people!"

"Cause I'm so cute." He repeats what Marley said to him the other day. It's true. He has dark blue eyes that are to die for and this face that can let him get away with murder.

I giggle and nuzzle my face against his chest. "That you are, baby."

"I wanna ride the cart!" He squeals when we walk inside Dominick's.

"You're wish is my command." I say to him in an English accent and place him in the cart for him to ride. I push him and look around the aisles to see what we should get. Damn, I knew I should have written down what we needed. It'll be so much easier than wandering around.

"Gold fish crackers." Graham points.

I reach over the shelf and grab a couple bags. "Good call, baby."

"And cookies!" He slyly grins.

I shake my head and bop his nose. "Nope. Can't have too much sugar."

"Aww." He sighs and sits still in the cart.

I giggle and begin to pick out what we need in the fridge. Giving sugar to Graham is like feeding a burning building more air and dry wood. The more they're fed the more they'll reach their high until they crash and burn. Now let's see, juice, milk, eggs, grapes, hmm I wonder what else we need. I glance down at Graham and see him trying to open a bag of chips. I snap my fingers and grin. We need to make lunch!

"What do you want to eat, champ?" I ask while taking the bag away from him and putting it back on the shelf.

Graham pouts for a second before deciding. "Hot dogs!"

"Hot dogs?" I playfully exclaim while pushing the cart again. I wander into the freezer section, trying to find the hot dogs. "Sounds good to me. How much do you think you can eat?"

"This much!" Graham stretches his arms apart, smiling like he finished a 10k run.

Humming, I finally found the hot dogs. I open the fridge door and take a couple packages before dumping them in the cart beside Graham. Now it's time to find the buns. I walk around aimlessly until I finally find the bread section. I could have used the signs hanging above each aisle but walking around is more fun than taking directions. When I turn the corner I accidently hit someone's cart. The impact of the crash caused Graham to hit his head against the cart.

"Owww!" Graham whimpers. Oh gosh, tears are swelling around his eyes.

"Oh sweetie. I'm so sorry." Tina exclaims worriedly, scurrying towards our cart and examining Graham's head.

I hold a concern face while I watch Tina checking Graham out for me. After a few seconds, Tina sighs with relief and gives me an assuring smile. "He's good."

"Thank you, Tina." I grin. "Sorry we ran into you."

"I'm sorry I didn't see you two." She chuckles and waves at me bashfully.

"Hi Tina." Graham greets happily after recovering from his 2.4-second injury.

Tina smiles widely and affectionately ruffles my son's hair. "Hey Graham. Whatcha guys doing here?"

I look at Graham, smiling and letting him answer the question. "Me and Mom are gonna make some hot dogs for lunch!"

Tina nods excitedly just to make Graham happy. She then looks at me and says. "Hey, since you haven't had lunch yet, why don't you two go have some lunch with me and Mike and a few other people from The Pub?"

"I don't know." I begin shyly. "We don't want to oppose."

Tina grins and lets out a small laugh. "You wouldn't, Britt! We're heading over to Johnny Rockets actually. The one that's just a block away from here"

Graham perks up at the name of his favorite restaurant. He whips his head at me and begs with his hands clasp together. "Please, Mommy!"

"Please Brittany!" Tina mimics him. "The more the merrier!"

Rolling my eyes, I respond. "Sure why not. What time?"

"Hmm 3 o'clock good?"

"Perfect."

Tina grins excitedly. "Awesome. See ya in an hour."

"Buh-bye Tina!" Graham waves when we pass each other to our respective grocery aisles.

We finish up our grocery shopping and walk outside with six heavy bags in each hand. Sometimes I wish we had a car so we don't have to walk all the way back home. We were about to leave the parking lot when I see a yellow car pulling up in front of us. Tina waves happily and rolls down her windows.

"Britt why don't you just take a ride with me?" She says with a friendly smile. "We're going to the same place anyway and I can give you a ride back home."

"I don't know." Feeling self-conscious at the offer.

Tina rolls her eyes and I can hear her car unlocking. Graham grins excitedly and runs to the back seat. I smile in defeat and place my bags in the car next to Graham before sitting up front with Tina.

"Thanks so much." I say to her while we drive to the restaurant.

Tina shrugs it off modestly. "It's what friends do, Brittany."

We get to Johnny Rockets and Graham just bolts out of the car and inside. I didn't worry though because I saw our friends through the windows. Tina and I walk inside and immediately Mike, Sugar, Sam, and this other woman greeted us. Mike was holding Graham and he simply waves like he's been with them all along.

"Glad decided to join us." Mike says and leads us to a huge booth that fits all of us. He sets Graham right next to me. "The more the merrier!"

Tina laughs and places a hand on him. "That's what I said!"

I can't help but notice how they look like the most picture perfect couple ever. Mike has a little smudge in the corner of his mouth and Tina simply licks her thumb and gently rubs the stain away. It's so cute. I had a boyfriend back in high school and we were together from freshmen year to junior year. I thought I would spend the rest of my life with him but I realize that I couldn't. Sometimes the little things that he would want me to do didn't seem right. I heard that it's the small actions that we do show how much we love someone. I guess I didn't love him as much as I thought I did. Bringing him coffee in the morning felt more like a chore than wanting to bring him coffee because I loved him.

Suddenly Sam shows up out of nowhere and grabs my attention next. "Yo Brittany, this is perfect timing too! This is Mercedes. Mercedes this is the newbie at The Pub."

Mercedes smiles and nods at me. "Hey girl!"

"Hey." I smile back. I gesture her at my son. "This is Graham. Graham wanna say hi?"

Graham looks up from his coloring and does this shy wave. Mercedes gives out a soft laugh and comments. "He's precious."

"Thanks." I giggle.

Sugar decides to join the conversation after a few minutes. She was too busy with her phone. "Is this everyone?"

"Is Ryder coming?" Graham blatantly asks.

"Sorry kiddo." Sam gives him a sympathetic look. "Ryder is out of town for a couple days."

"Aww…" Graham really looks down. I lean near him and kiss his head just to make him feel a little better.

"Isn't one of your friends coming, Cedes?" Tina asks Mercedes across from her.

Mercedes nods and pulls out her phone. "Huh, well the Devil herself just texted a few minutes ago. Girl says she's already on her way."

"Devil?" Graham whimpers and looks over at me with concern.

Mercedes and Tina laugh while Mike and Sam roll their eyes. Sugar snorts and informs me that it's just a nickname Mercedes has given her when they were in high school. I nod and ask if they all went to high school together.

"Nah." Mercedes answers. "It's just me and Satan. Satan got into NYU and stayed there for a while while I went to Northwestern. I met Sam and Mike there."

"That's cool." I grin. I've never had a friend that stuck by me since high school. I wish I did so I can meet up with them like Mercedes.

"Speak of the Devil." Mike nods his head towards the entrance.

I turn around and see Santana walking towards us with what seems a permanent frown. She was grumbling and promptly squeezed herself next to Mercedes in the booth. Santana suddenly pulls out her phone and begins to text someone. I notice that now she's wearing something casual, blue jeans and an Amy Winehouse t-shirt. I've never seen her dress like this before. It's a nice change of scenery.

"Hey Satan." Mercedes coos and reaches over to pinch Santana's cheek.

"I swear to god Wheezy I am not in the mood." Santana snarls without looking.

Sam laughs and puts his arm around Mercedes. "Be nice Santana. It's been forever since I've seen you and I hardly recognize you!"

"Whatever Trouty. Why don't you go back to the big fish mouth village you came from."

I see Graham frown from my side-glance and I lean down towards him and whisper what is wrong. Graham looks up at me and says loudly. "She's mean."

"Who the hell—_Brittany!?"_ Santana gawks with wide eyes.

My cheeks burn and I nod a little hello. I fidget nervously while she stares. I can actually see her registering my existence before blinking her embarrassment away. I force myself to look over at Tina and fire up a conversation. After a few seconds we got into a heated debate about different musical performances that happened in the Chicago Theater. I quickly look over at Santana and see her staring but not at me. She's staring at Graham and the funny thing is that he's staring—_scratch that_—he's glaring right at Santana.

"So that's why _Wicked_ was the best." Tina finishes.

I look back at Tina and roll my eyes. "Yeah, I guess I could agree, but I think _Mary Poppins _was the best. The actress was literally lifted up from the stage and 'flew' around the audience!"

Graham broke his gaze away from Santana and nods. "It's true. Mommy and I were there when she was flying!"

Tina laughs and shakes her head. "I need to see it then."

"Mommy?!" Santana sputters out in confusion.

I look across from me and shoot her a small glare. Sugar eyes Santana wearily and says. "Yeah. I mean why else would there be a kid with us."

Santana shakes her head with disbelief and just turns her attention elsewhere. Everyone else looks at her questioningly before resuming back to their conversations. Lunch with everyone was enjoyable, even Santana manage to throw in a genuine laugh here and there. I've never heard her laugh before and hearing it now is like love in first sight. Her laugh is very distinctive that I can actually hear the rasp in it. That's unusually breathtaking.

"Oh no." Tina exclaims worriedly after we all pay our separate checks. She holds her phone up and groans in frustration. "Britt I don't think I can drive you and Graham back home. The office just texted and they need me." She throws me a look of distress.

Sam frowns and looks over at Mercedes. "We're going over to your parents house after this…So we can't take Brittany home. Your Mom is gonna kill _me_ if we're late."

"We walked here." Sugar adds in while pointing at herself and Mike.

I shrug and smile at Tina, reassuring her strained look. "It's okay Tina. Graham and I like to walk."

Tina shakes her head. "But you have all these groceries!."

"I make songs while we walk." Graham throws in.

Everyone laughs until Santana suddenly offers. "I can give you a ride if you want."

I turn towards her and see her eyes shifting away from mine. She's nervous. Her body is tense and she's biting her lip so hard that I'm sure that it'll start to bleed soon. Taking in a deep breath, I smile at her and say that it will be too much trouble for her to drive Graham and I. Santana finally looks at me and smiles back, she says that it will be no trouble at all.

We all get out of the restaurant and say our good byes. Tina helps me grab my groceries and placing them in Santana's car. I thank her with a hug and watch her scurry off to her meeting. It's just me and Santana now.

"He's cute." Santana off handedly says while driving.

I turn around from my seat and see Graham sleeping silently. He usually gets food comas right after he eats a big meal. I giggle and thank her. We stay quiet until we hit our third stoplight. I hear Santana breathing unsteadily and it's nerve-racking to listen too. My gaze lands on her and I see her gripping her steering wheel too tight.

"You okay?"

Santana releases a huge sigh and looks at me. "I'm so sorry."

"Pardon?

"I said I'm sorry." Santana groans quietly. The light turns green and the car moves forward.

I tilt my head to the side and see her eyes glistening. Is she going to cry? "Why are you sorry?"

Santana quickly pulls over to the side and slouches against her leather seat. She looks like she just confessed to murdering someone. "I'm sorry." She repeats.

My lips form into a thin line of frustration. I can't forgive her if I know what she's sorry for.

Santana closes her eyes and exhales. "I'm sorry I ruined your marriage."

"What?" I'm lost.

Santana's eyes flicker towards me and her lips tremble. "I ruined your marriage by paying you to sleep with me!" She then looks over at Graham to see if he heard any of that.

My lips twitch at how devastated she looks. It's hard not to smile. I've never said this before but I think her whimpering like that makes her even more beautiful. It's a side I've never seen and it's new and drawing me in closer than ever.

"First mine and now yours." Santana rambles to herself. Her forehead hits the steering wheel and she just lies there like an immature child. "I'm such a bitch."

"Hey now." I gently say, reaching over to touch her shoulder. "It's not your fault."

"Everything is my fault." She whispers more to herself than me.

I shake my head and cup her face so she's looking at me. "I'm not even married."

Santana's eyes bulge out of her sockets. "Huh?"

I manage to pull of a modest smile and shrug while extracting my hands back from her face. Santana sits there silently, thinking over the words that were just fed into her mind. I can see a spark happen in her eyes when the wires were put together. Santana lets off a wave of relief as her body deflates from the early tension. She looks at my shyly and licks her lips, not predatorily but nervously.

"What do we do now?" The same question she asked the other day at The Pub.

I look at her and see her eyes begging for a different answer than from last time. My fingers curl into fists as I can feel her eyes staring at my soul. "We could grab a cup of coffee." I suggest and sucking my lips in my mouth to fight back whatever else I might vomit up.

Santana breaks into a sudden grin. Her head falls back against the window and she lets out a chuckle. She sits up straight and keeps smiling. It's so infectious that I start to grin right back at her.

"I would really love that." Santana honestly says. "You can even bring him." She nods her head over to a sleeping boy in the back seat.

"We could even go grab a cup now." I slyly say.

Santana giggles and change the car into drive. "I know a good café that has the best hot chocolate for the little guy."

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry I can't even finish re-reading this chapter because I'm watching the Super Bowl while doing this. **

**Speaking of Super Bowl. Holy shit did you see Naya's M&M commercial? GOD AL;KDFJ I LITERALLY SCREAMED UGH NAYA WHY YOU SO BEAUTIFUL WHILE DATING AN M&M**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Glee ©**

**A/n: Shooooooort**

* * *

I gently pick up Graham from the back seat before Santana closes the door for me. With Graham sleeping in my arms, we walk inside this fancy restaurant called Mindy's Hot Chocolate. I've passed this place so many times that I never bothered going in. The place gives off a warm feeling that goes great with cold weather, especially this time of year. A waitress appears and leads us to a table. I sit down with Graham still in my arms while Santana sits right across from me.

"Ever been here?" Santana asks while picking up the menu.

I shake my head. "I heard it's great though."

"It is." She smiles while peering over her menu to look at me. "I came here a couple times with Mercedes back in college but lately I've been too busy with work to come back."

"Yeah?" I feel Graham slipping so I lift him up gently. "What do you do?"

Santana puts the menu down and gives off an awkward cough, like she's embarrassed to say. "I'm a graphic designer for advertising."

That's impressive. I smile encouragingly and almost giggle at her uneasy posture. "Really? Anything I've seen?"

Santana stays quiet for a while until she says. "Ever seen that billboard in 63rd Street?"

I think back. "Yeah I think I have. The one advertising about Absolute Vodka?"

"That's the one." She grins proudly but in a second it fades. "I mean, it's not what I had in mind when they offered me the topic but I love the way it came out."

"It's stunning." I compliment. I remember passing that billboard. I've never seen graphic advertising as a type of art before. Thinking about it, it does seem like a creative mind could of come up with it. I've never pictured Santana as an artistic type.

"Most people don't actually."

Oops. Did I say that out loud?

"You did." Santana smiles sweetly.

I blush feverishly and ignore my little mistake. "I bet your parents are proud." I change the subject.

Santana shrugs and licks her lips. "I guess so."

"You guess so?"

"I mean, yeah. But my Dad is still upset that I didn't really go into the family business."

"What's the family business?"

Santana rolls her eyes. "My Dad owns this law firm and he was hoping to pass the torch to me. I don't understand why he's upset about that, I mean he has two other kids."

"You the oldest?" I curiously ask.

"I'm actually the youngest out of two brothers." Santana chuckles. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Got any siblings?"

I slightly tense at the question and pause before answering. "Yeah. An older brother."

"That's cool." She smiles earnestly.

A waiter appears and asks what we would like. I look over at Santana, silently asking her to order for me since I didn't get the chance to look at the menu. She senses this and smiles at the man, telling him that we'd like three cups of hot chocolate. The man nods and tells us that our order will come in shortly. Santana and I talked about meaningless things for a few minutes until Graham woke up.

Graham blinks his eyes feverishly before blindly taking in his surroundings. He turns around and sits on my lap while rubbing his eyes. He seemed too hazy to realize that we're in a restaurant. But I think he got the message when he smelled the food in the air. I watch Graham look around again before his eyesight lands on Santana. I suddenly see his sleepy gaze turn into a hard stare.

Graham brings my head close to him so he can whisper. "It's the mean lady, Mom."

I roll my eyes and whisper back. "She's not mean, Graham."

Graham pouts and sits on my lap quietly while Santana observes us carefully. I smile politely before taking up another subject. Santana was about to reply when suddenly my phone rings. Apologizing, I pull it out and see that it was my Dad. I gently pick Graham off my lap and put him in my seat before walking off to the restrooms to talk privately with him. He never calls unless it's important. He discovered texting so all the little stuff like him asking questions are usually sent in text messages.

* * *

Santana awkwardly sits across from Graham and stares at the boy. She has never been good with children. The last time she babysat a kid was in her sophomore year in high school. She was paid thirty dollars to watch the neighbor's kid but ended up watching reality TV and when the parents came him they found their child in the kitchen, playing house in the stove.

Graham tilts his head to the side and says. "You're that mean lady."

"Mean lady?" Santana scoffs and glares at him. That is pretty rude.

Graham rolls his eyes and crosses his arms like he's the boss around here. Santana frowns at him and does the same.

"You called my friends mean names today at Johnny Rockets." Graham tells her.

Santana freezes for a moment, trying to remember if she called any little kids nasty names. She then realized that she didn't run into kids today. Mercedes and Sam were the ones that she called names at. Oh well.

"Well they're my friends too." Santana states like she already won the agreement.

Graham scrunches his nose and Santana swears that she saw a flash of Brittany. She unconsciously smiles at Graham, not noticing the confused look he has on. Santana can see every detail that belongs to Brittany on Graham. From the blonde hair to his face, she even bets that he probably has freckles sprinkled on his face if you look really close. Just like Brittany Santana thought.

"You don't call your friends names. That's mean." Graham narrows his eyes at her. "And Mercedes said that you're Satan."

Santana mentally smacks herself. Curse Mercedes for giving her that nickname. Or maybe curse her grandmother for giving her a middle name similar to Satan.

"Do I look like Satan?" Santana snorts.

Graham stays quiet for a second before saying. "Maybe."

"What?! Satan does not look this good." Santana snaps and points at her own face and body to indicate that she's a lot better looking then a certain demon down below.

"Satan can shape-shift." Graham retorts, slamming his tiny hand on the table. "So you could be!"

Santana glares at Graham before leaning over on the table and whisper to him. "Listen kid, I'm not freakin' Satan. I can't be Satan because Satan doesn't treat people out for hot chocolate."

She pulls back and leans against the back of her chair while she watches Graham process what she told him to his head. After a few seconds he glares and mimics Santana's actions. The two had an awful tension of silence for a couple minutes before Graham asks.

"So is this like a date? Are you on a date with my Mom?" He suddenly changes the subject and scrunches his face in disgust. He absolutely doesn't like the thought of his Mom dating people. It's weird.

Santana's eyes widen and she chokes on air. She coughs loudly, earning a few eyes looking over at her. Once she calmed down she stares at Graham with bewilderment. "Whoa! This is not a date, kid."

"My name is not kid." Graham pouts. "I'm Graham. Graham Charlie Pierce."

Santana smiles softly. It's a cute name. "I'm Santana."

"Santana, is this a date?"

"Nah." She answers. She smoothly runs her fingers through her hair. "It's just a thing I want to do to make your Mom forgive me."

Graham's eyes widen. "Did you do a bad thing?"

Santana nods.

"How bad?"

"Very."

Graham's mouth is shaped like an 'o'. "That's bad."

"Very bad."

"My Mom is probably going to forgive you." Graham shrugs. "Cause my Mom likes to forgive. She says its good because it's better to make friends than ememies. She even told me to do the same."

Santana couldn't help but chuckle. "Ememies? Do you enemies?

"Same thing."

Santana smiles. She doesn't know Brittany very well but she thinks that it suites her style. She can see her as a forgiving type. "That's good…Do you think you could forgive me for calling Mercedes and Sam names?"

Graham shakes his head. "I still don't like you."

Santana furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "I thought your Mom told you to forgive people."

"_She_ forgives people." Graham explains with exasperation. "She told me to but I don't forgive people easily. My Grandpa told me that I shouldn't until a person proves it." He suddenly glares at her. "And you can't be friends with my Mom because mean people stay mean forever. I saw it on TV once. And _you_ said that you did something very bad to my Mom. So it's gonna take you five-ever to prove it to me. "

Jesus help me, Santana thinks to herself.

* * *

I close my phone and sigh. Graham will not like this. I put my phone away and go back to my table. I notice the hot chocolate has arrived and I also see my son and Santana glaring at each other to death. Oh gosh, what did they do?

"Hey guys!" I smile and pull up another chair for me to sit on. "What are you two talking about?"

I see Graham smirk at Santana and Santana panicking. Graham was about to say something when Santana suddenly interrupts him. "We were talking about different football teams. I was saying that the New England Patriots were the best while this little guy was saying that the Chicago Bears were."

I think something is up but I don't say anything. I just nod my head. Maybe they're right, I mean Graham does love the Bears.

"How's the hot chocolate?" I ask while reaching over for my mug.

"It's awesome." Santana smiles and takes a sip of hers. "Right Graham?"

Graham doesn't answer. He grabs his mug and blows the steam off before taking a sip. His eyes widen with surprise and drinks more. I giggle at him and mess his hair up.

"Who was calling, Mom?" Graham asks once he puts his mug down.

Oh yeah. My lips form a thin line before telling him. "I'm afraid Grandpa can't make it for your birthday."

"What?" He's face is breaking my heart. "But we just saw him a couple weeks ago!"

"He got stuck in New York, baby." I gently say. "So he won't be here tomorrow."

Graham's lips tremble with disappointment. He and my Dad are close. It hurts and I understand how he feels. He missed a couple of my birthdays when I was his age because he was all over the country. My Dad has been _very_ spontaneous lately ever since he retired. One minute he's here in Chicago the next he's in Brazil playing soccer with old college buddies. It's cool that at that age my Dad is still acting young but sometimes I worry about him. Parents, what are you going to do about it, am I right?

I pull Graham onto my lap and kiss his head. "We can still go play hockey and dance and pick out your presents as usual."

"But we won't be going to Grandpa's after all that to have a Thanksgiving feast." Graham sighs sadly.

"It's okay Graham Cracker." I tell him. I look up and see Santana looking away. I forgot she was here.

Santana slowly moves her head back towards us and I see her silently asking if everything is okay. I smile briefly at her, assuring that everything is all right. She lifts a smile back before taking a sip from her drink.

After having hot chocolate, Santana offers us a ride home. I was thinking of declining but I notice how dark the sky is. Time flies. So after Santana's persisting pleads of her giving me a ride, I finally agree. The ride to the apartment complex was quiet until we got there. Santana asked if I need any help with the grocery bags. I look at the back seat and see Graham rummaging through the bags. I roll my eyes and look back at Santana.

"If it's not any trouble." I sheepishly smile.

Santana shrugs. "It's never any trouble." She smiles.

We all grab the bags and we head inside. When we get to my apartment I get a little nervous. She's probably going to judge me and my crappy place but then I remember when we traded numbers and how she didn't say anything about my phone. Hopefully she does the same when she sees how small the apartment is.

I unlock the door and open it. I step inside and put the bags on the table. I turn around and see Graham and Santana doing the same. My eyes linger on Santana while her eyes swipe across the room. Her face still stays the same. That's good, I think.

"I better get going." Santana licks her lips. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"

I smile softly. "Maybe. It depends on where this kid wants to go." And I nod over at Graham who is now watching TV on the bed.

Santana chuckles and rubs her hands. "That's right. Birthday boy. How old will he be turning?

"5." I answer.

Santana nods. "Cool. Well…I should go. See ya Brittany."

I lead her to the door and say goodbye back. Santana smiles one last time before she walks off. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding while I close the door. That went well. No awkward tension between us. That's good. Really good.

"Mom, Loony Tunes is on!"

"Coming!"


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Glee ©**

**A/N: So I had this in my doc for a while and it was a lot to re-read but I did it! Anyway, i hope you guys like it so far. **

* * *

I wipe my hands with a paper towel before tossing it in the garbage bin. I look back at the treat and stare at it. It's perfect. I ordered one of those big cupcakes from Tina since she owns that bakery on 84th street. I hum to myself and place a number 5 candle in the middle and light it up. Gently, I pick it up and tip-toe over to our bed where Graham is still sleeping. He's lying on his stomach with his face facing me. I always see the image of his father whenever he sleeps. It's nostalgic.

I lightly tap his nose and smile widely when I see his eyes flutter open. I almost gush when I forgot I was holding the cupcake. Graham lies there for a second, looking at me with a sleepy face. His eyes widen when he sees the blue dessert in my hand. He quickly sits up and grins. He points to himself, making sure that it's for him and no one else. I laugh and nod.

I get on the bed and sit behind him. I rest my chin on his shoulder and hold the cupcake in front of his with its candle burning brightly.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you." I sing softly in his ear. "Happy birthday to Graha~am. Happy birthday to you." I hear him exhale and suddenly the flicker of light disappears.

"Did you make a wish?"

Graham nods against me. "I can't tell you because it'll ruin my wish."

I love that he keeps up with tradition. Most kids ruin it and tell their wishes. I pluck the candle off the cupcake and leave the treat in the hands of my son. Graham peels the cupcake cup and takes a bite out of it. He groans with pleasure from the sweet snack that I allow him to have so early in the morning. I hum quietly and hold my baby until he finishes.

"What are we gonna do?!" Graham turns around excitedly.

While I wipe the crumbs off the edges of his mouth I give him a little smirk. "Whatever you want."

"I wanna go see Ryder!"

I frown. I think the reason why Graham wants to see Ryder is because he's a guy that he looks up too besides my Dad. Graham doesn't have much male role-models. "Baby, I think he' still out of town."

"Oh…"

I roll my eyes and bring him closer to me. "I have today and tomorrow off, Graham Cracker. We can do whatever we want."

"Whatever we want?!" Graham grins and jumps on my lap. "I wanna go to Shedd Aquarium!"

"Let us go!" I bellow out. I get off the bed and scoop Graham in my arms. He shrieks out a laugh as I rock him back and forth like a baby. "But first we shall shower!"

We get cleaned up and dress into something casual before we leave the building to grab a taxi. I think there's supposed to be a special discount since it's the holiday but whatever. We go the aquarium hand in hand and we go look at the fish. Graham presses his face against the glass when we go by the salt-water fish. He gets excited when he sees a clown fish and claiming to people that pass by us that he found Nemo. One old woman look at Graham and compliments that he's precious. Graham actually turns red and buries his face in my coat. The woman and I share a laugh before she walks off and we go back to the fish.

"What's that?" He points and raises his arms up for me to lift him.

I hold him close and look over to what he is pointing at. "That's a jellyfish."

"Like in _Spongebob_?"

"Yup."

Graham's mouth skews. "But it's a lot prettier."

"It is." I observe it floating around. It's a lot more majestic than in the ones in _Spongebob._

We walk away from the jellyfish and spy on the turtles. They were doing nothing to be honest. We cheered when one turtle came out of it's shell and began to walk. But it stopped after a few inches and went back to sleep. Graham and I whine at the same time and decide to go look at something else.

"I wanna go see the dolphins!" Graham says as we walk away from the turtle exhibit.

I grin. I love dolphins! I hold Graham's hand and try to look for one of those maps that can guide us around. I found one by the corner and walk over there. Let's see, I press my index finger against the glass and drag it around. It says they're by the lizard exhibit. After going over the directions we turn around and look for the dolphins. My eyes scan the area for the sign until I spot someone familiar. She looks frustrated as she stares at the sign for the birds and

"Hey!" I grin and wave. "Santana!"

Santana looks up from her notebook and tries to find the person who called her. Her eyes settle on me and a smile appears. Have I mentioned before how beautiful she looks whenever she smiles? I think I have. I notice that she's wearing skinny jeans with a red North Face jacket on and her hair up high in a ponytail. Simple yet wonderful. I think if I saw her in her PJs I would still call her amazingly stunning.

Graham and I approach her and I can't help but have a permanent smile on. "What are you doing here?" I playfully pout at her. "Are you stalking me?"

Santana cracks up and waves her hand at me. "Oh god no. I'm actually here for work." She then lifts up a little sketchbook. "I am officially in charge of designing new advertising billboards for Shedd Aquarium."

"And yet you have nothing so far." I tease her when I observe the lack of pencil marks on the paper.

She blushes and shrugs. "I just got here and I still need some inspiration."

"Mommy!" Graham whines and tugs on my coat." Dolphins!"

I almost forgot that we were going to see them! I look down at Graham and give him a little smile. "Alright." I suddenly get an idea. "Do you want to come?"

I see in the corner of my eye Graham frowning. Santana hesitates to answer before I roll my eyes and tell her that she should totally come. She might get some inspiration for her work. She smiles and gladly accepts the offer and in return she will show us the way to the dolphins. Thank god too because I'm terrible at directions.

"They're right there." Santana says and points over to the giant tank.

Graham's face lights up and lets go of my hand and runs over there to the dolphins. I laugh and follow Santana over to the bench. We sit just a couple feet away from each other and exchange nothing but silence. I look over at Graham and see his face pressed up against the glass like last time. I smile softly and shake my head. He's adorable.

"So Graham wanted to come here?" Santana begins to make small talk. I notice how strained her voice is.

I nod. "He loves coming here but we only come here during the holidays so we can have those discounts for the tickets."

Santana chuckles. "That's cool."

"How's the drawing coming along?" I ask with pure interest. I've never been an artist and I don't know many so I would love to see her draw one of these days.

Santana shrugs her shoulders and tilts the empty sketchbook at me. "Nada."

"You should draw me a picture." I giggle.

Santana raises an eyebrow and moves a few inches towards me. "Oh yeah?" She licks her lips and looks at my own lips before saying. "What would you like?"

"Umm…" I move closer until I accidentally bump her knee. She doesn't notice. "A dolphin?"

Santana looks at me with look. It's not a bad look but it's something. "You a dolphin girl?"

I laugh and nod my head. "You have no idea. When I was younger my room was filled with dolphins. Sheets, toys, pillows, the works." I don't know why I shared that. I think I might be having word vomit.

Santana leans against the back of the bench and keeps that beautiful smile on her face. She crosses her legs and places the sketchbook in her lap while twirling her pencil between her fingers. "Anything else?"

"Nope." I respond while popping the 'p'.

"Alright." She says with a wink. "I'll draw you your dolphin. Though it might not what you'll be expecting. I tend to be creative."

I nod in response. "That's alright. So what's your favorite animal?"

Santana answers in a heartbeat. "Lizards."

"Lizards?" I scrunch my face. I peg her as a lion or a tiger type, but lizards are cute too, I think.

Santana laughs at my reaction. "I love them. I don't know why, but something about them makes them seem cool. I use to catch them back in California when I lived there for a while. My brothers and I would keep 'em for a bit and release them later on."

Suddenly I have the urge to ask more questions like where is she from, what's her favorite color, what's her favorite sport and team, her favorite foods. Slow down, Britt. She'll probably think you're creepy if you ask her all that in a day. Suddenly something crash into me causing me to gasp from the impact. I look down and see Graham hugging me while glaring at Santana. Santana simply raises her eyebrows and looks back. It's cute. Maybe they're bonding more.

"You done looking at the dolphins, Graham Cracker?" I ask as I lift him onto my lap.

"I wanna go in there." Graham points and tries to read the sign. He's been practicing how to read now. "Lie-zahds." He tries.

Santana and I share a giggle and I correct him. "Lizards, baby."

Graham grins. "Yeah!"

"We can go." I say and get up. "Santana loves them!"

Graham looks over at Santana and stares at her. "Really?

"Yup." Santana smiles with a shrug. "They're awesome little creatures."

Graham stays silent for a moment before nodding his head in approval. I don't know what's with him but I have a feeling he's testing her. It's weird because he never tests people, well except one time I went out on a date with this one guy a few months ago. Graham was always giving him looks and asking him questions he can't seem to answer.

Graham runs over to the lizard exhibit while Santana and I try to catch up to him.

"Look!" Graham exclaims when he spots us. "Look at this one! It's so cool."

Santana and I walk over to Graham and see him pointing at one lizard that's in it's water bowl. I read the description for it to Graham with Santana behind us sketching away in her sketchbook. I look over my shoulder and see her in concentration. Her eyes are narrowed and she's biting her lip. She brings the notebook closer to her and I can hear the pencil marks moving about on the paper.

"Can we get one of those?" Graham says to me. I look around and see that he's already looking at another creature.

"What is it?" Santana asks when she breaks out of her trance.

Graham looks at the description plate and pronounces. "Ge-Gee-koh."

Santana walks over there while I follow her. She bends down to Graham's height and reads the plaque. "Gecko. I love geckos."

"Yeah?" Graham seems very interested.

"I kept some as a pet when I was younger." Santana explains with a nostalgic smile. "I caught some in this jar and kept them in my room."

Graham pouts. "I wish I had a pet." He then looks over to me.

I raise an eyebrow and place my hands on my hips. "When you're older."

Graham throws his arms around my waist and leans his head on my stomach. "You always say that!"

Santana nudges Graham playfully and pretends to be discreet. "Such a Mom thing to say."

I roll my eyes and put my hand on Graham's head. "Lets keep looking at the lizards."

We look around the different sights with Santana for a couple hours while getting small snacks in between. We go back to the dolphins and stay there for half an hour because they were doing a show. While Graham is preoccupied with the trainers and dolphins, I glance at Santana and see her drawing. I smile and tap her shoulder.

"Whatcha drawing?"

Santana looks up at me and lifts up a smile. "Dolphins."

"Can I see?"

Santana pauses for a moment before nodding. She hands me her sketchbook and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. She drew dolphins swimming with little lizards riding on the back. It's adorable. I look back at Santana and see her sheepishly grinning.

"And you're going to turn this in in work?" I tease her.

Santana chuckles. "I'm just doodling. I actually got some stuff sketched while we walked around."

"Walking and sketching at the same time? Impressive."

"Well, I am pretty impressive." She feigns modesty.

"Of course." I add with an eye roll.

The show ends and we all walk to the exit. We decide that it's time to leave so we stand by the doors while facing each other, like this is our last meeting. Graham sways our hands and looks out the glass door while Santana and I exchange words.

"So where you heading now?"

Santana bites her lip. "Probably home. Watch a movie on Netflix and eat junk food."

I suddenly have an idea. "Why don't you join us for the rest of the day?"

Santana looks at Graham and they both exchange silent terms. It's odd but I don't comment. They must have bonded too well at the hot chocolate place yesterday. Santana sighs and rubs her arm. She asks if I was sure.

"Of course." I smile encouragingly.

Santana smiles back. "Well, if I'm not opposing…Then sure, why not."

Graham doesn't say anything but tugs on my hand, telling us that he wants to go The Bean. We go outside and I was about to hail a taxi when Santana tells me that she actually drove here. I smile and we walk over to the parking lot. The drive to Millennium Park is quick and before we knew it we're in front of The Bean. I grin next to Graham and see him try to dougie. I mimic him but actually got the flow right. Graham perks up and copies me.

"There we go!" I grin. "Ryder's gonna flip when he sees you dougie."

I look at our reflection and see Santana in the back. I turn around and jog over towards her, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards The Bean. "Come on!"

Santana laughs. "I don't want to look weird like you guys. Who even dances in front of The Bean anyway?"

"Us!" I exclaim and look over at the mirror once we stand in front of it. "Right, Graham Cracker?"

"It looks like I have a twin." He says while he lays down on the ground and puts his feet on the statue.

Santana giggles and shakes her head.

I pop, lock, and drop next to Santana and tell her it's her turn. She looks hesitate but I persuade her to do _some_ dance move if she wants to hang out with us today. Santana chuckles and replies that she's only hanging out with us because she wants to avoid doing work. Suddenly Santana copies my previous dance moves and smirks when she sees my gaping mouth.

"Whoa!" Graham exclaims in awe. "You can dance like me and Mommy!"

Santana looks at Graham and shrugs. "Dancing is dancing, kid."

He gets up and walks up to Santana with a challenging glint in his eye. I lean against the statue and smile at the two when I hear Graham asking Santana to dance battle against him. I laugh and see Graham trying to out dance Santana who is actually doing pretty well. Santana hears me and rolls her eyes playfully.

After twenty minutes, decides to call it quits and let Graham win. He raises his arms up in the air and runs towards me, colliding his body against me. I kiss his head and ask him where he wants to go next.

"Hockey store!" He exclaims and points north.

I glance over to Santana. "You know where that is?"

"Actually yes." She chuckles. "I've been there a few times."

"You like hockey?" Graham asks as we make our way back to Santana's car.

"I went to a couple games because my Abuelo loved hockey." Santana explains to us. "I mean, I enjoy watching it but I can't call myself a fan."

Graham scrunches his nose. "What's an Aw-bway-low?"

"Abuelo is Spanish for Grandpa." Santana patiently explains. She then glances at me. "What about you Brittany? Favorite sport and team?"

"Football girl." I chuckle. "Miami Dolphins all the way."

"Should have known." Santana shakes her head amusingly. "Come on let's go to the hockey store.

We get there with no trouble and here we are standing in an aisle just for hockey sticks. I smile affectionately as Graham stares at them in awe. Bending down to his height, I place my hands on his shoulders and tell him that he can pick any one he wants including some new pucks.

Graham grins widely and kisses my cheek before running up and down the aisle to find the "perfect" hockey stick to brag to his friends about. I turn around and see Santana with her arms crossed and looking at the different equipment. I walk up to her and gently nudge her shoulder.

"Hey." She greets softly. "Graham pick a hockey stick yet?"

We both look over to him and see him deciding between four sticks. We share a laugh and go back to looking at whatever Santana was looking at. Being with her right now feels weird. I don't know what kind of weird but it's making me have butterflies in my stomach and I kind of don't like it. But it's a nice feeling as well. Gosh, my emotions towards this are confusing me. I wonder if she shares the same thoughts.

"Ever played hockey?" Santana suddenly asks.

I shrug. "Nope. My Dad introduced this to Graham a couple years ago and he fell in love with it. What about you?"

Santana nods and shoves her hands in her pockets. "My brothers loved sports so growing up I end up learning how to play a few."

"That's awesome." I smile at the thought. My brother and I use to throw the old pig skin in the cul-de-sac that we lived in back in the suburbs before moving into the city. Good times.

"Mommy!"

We turn around and see Graham holding his new hockey stick along with a bag of pucks and a black hockey helmet. Oh boy, the helmet.

"Graham, I don't think I have enough for the helmet too." I sadly tell him.

Graham's eyes widen and his arms drupe. "Really?" His voice is filled with so much disappointment that I actually flinch at its tone.

I purse my lips together before saying. "I'm sorry, Graham Cracker."

Graham gives me a small smile and tells me. "It's okay. At least I'm getting the hockey stick and the pucks."

"Atta boy." I say and pat his back. "Why don't you put it back and we can go buy it so we can try it out?"

Graham's face suddenly perks up. He nods and does what he's told. I sigh and wrap my arms around myself. I feel so lousy for not buying him something extra. I should have known that he would want the helmet as well. His other helmet is getting pretty old and I'm sure that it's going to be broken soon. I did buy it from a flea market after all.

"Hey, you okay?" I hear Santana ask me.

I let out a breathy yeah and say. "Just kinda upset that I couldn't get him that helmet."

Santana looks at me and glances over at the helmet Graham just put back. She doesn't say anything and leads us over to the cashier. My feelings from earlier subdue when I see Graham holding his hockey stick excitedly after we pay. We go back to the car and have Santana drive us to the ice rink. When we get there we rent skates and as I was helping Graham put on his skates I see Santana looking at her phone. Is she bored already?

Santana frowns and looks over at me. "I have to do this one errand for work..."

"You're leaving?" My face is filled with disappointment that I don't bother covering it up.

Santana slightly smiles. "Stupid boss of mine actually wants to me to fax him something."

"Will you be back?" Graham questions curiously.

She looks at the time on her watch before replying. "It will be quick I promise."

"You better keep that promise." I joke. "You still got to ice skate."

Santana cracks a smile and nods her head. "Don't worry. I'll take a good thirty minutes or so. You'll be having so much fun that I'll be back before you know it."

"Alright. It's a deal."

Santana nods her head and waves at us before heading over to her car. Graham and I both wave back and go back to putting on her ice skates. I wish Santana stayed so she could ice skate with us, but she did say that she will come back and she did promise. Graham suddenly grabs my hand and we enter the ice rink.

"Let's race!" Graham exclaims and begins to move his feet quickly.

I smirk and try to catch up to him. Graham never took lessons. He's a natural born skater and it's impressive. I don't know where and how he learned how to skate. I never had time to teach him so maybe he picked it up from TV. But sometimes I like to think he's a prodigy at ice-skating, which is really cool.

I skate pass Graham and stick my tongue out at him before facing front. Skating is an amazing sport. It makes me feel like I'm flying! I love how the breeze hits my face as I move faster and faster and I love feeling my hair fly back. It's like I'm Supergirl and I'm zooming everywhere. I look behind me and see Graham trying to catch up. I giggle softly and stop so he could catch up.

"Mommy!" He pants when he finally reaches me. "You're so fast!"

"That's why you shouldn't race with me." I smirk and ruffle his hair.

Graham holds my hand and we begin to skate together slowly. He hums softly before looking up at me and asking. "Do you like Santana?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Why?" It seems suspicious for him to ask that.

He shrugs and looks somewhere else. "I'm just wondering."

"I like Santana." I answer.

"Like a friend?"

"Yeah. She's my friend after all."

"Hmm."

"Is that bad?"

Graham looks up at me again. "I guess not." He then scrunches his nose at a thought that is probably floating around.

I smile and lightly bop his forehead. "Why don't we try out that hockey stick? I think those kids over there are starting a hockey game."

"You think they'll let me join them?"

"It wouldn't hurt if you ask."

Graham nods and lets go of my head so he could skate all the way to the other kids to ask if he could join. I see them talking amongst themselves before nodding their heads. Graham grins and fetches his hockey stick. I giggle to myself and shake my head. At least he's making friends.

I skate for a while before heading over to the bench to watch the hockey game with the other parents. We cheer whenever one of the kids makes a goal, especially Graham. After two games, they start their third. During the middle of it, I jump in my seat and clap when I see Graham block a puck from going towards the goal. I squeal excitedly and clap even more.

"They winning?"

I turn look next to me and see Santana looking at me with a big smile. The tip of Santana's nose is red as well as her ears. Her gloved hands stuffed in her coat and she looks so cozy with the scarf around her neck. I never realized how cold it is until now. My face does feel a little numb.

"Hey!" I greet with a giddy tone. "When did you get here?"

"Few seconds ago." She replies and nods over to the children. "Who's winning?"

"Graham's team."

"It's cause they got him."

"That's right." I grin and focus back to their little game. "Did you do what you had to do for work?"

"Oh totally." Santana takes a seat next to me. "All done and taken care of."

"That's good." I look at her and see her looking right at me.

And there I see it. The mysterious dark eyes that drew me in the first time I saw her. She gives me a small smile and I return the favor. I feel her inching closer to me until our arms are pressed against one another. My cheeks turn even redder and my eyes widen. I feel like this is the moment when we kiss. When we're suppose to lean in and press our lips together, slowly molding them into one. But we don't.

We're frozen at each other's gazes. Santana's lips jar, like she's in total awe. Never in my life have I wanted to just caress her lips with mine and hold her. Memories of every night spent together are remembered. It's still fresh and new in my mind. Shuddering, I close my eyes and exhale. I shouldn't be thinking like this, especially in public with Graham just a few feet away.

Santana suddenly flinches herself out of her trance before glancing at the ice skating rink. "Hey, uh, I think the game is done."

I forcibly look away from her and see the kids getting off the rink. Santana and I get up and walk over to Graham who is currently putting his rental skates away. He looks over at us and smiles brightly.

He clutches his hockey stick tightly and hops on his feet. "We won!"

"I know!" I grin. "You know what time it is now?"

Graham pouts and suddenly grabs Santana's hand to look at her wristwatch. Santana and I share an amused look before looking back at Graham.

"It's only 5 o'clock."

"It's getting pretty dark too." Santana notices while she points at the sky.

I roll my eyes and grab their hands and pull them towards Santana's car. "That is true but it's also dinner time. Sooo Santana, would you please drive us to that restaurant on 75th street? The one with the neon green sign."

"That place?" Her face lights up in recognition. "I know where it is. C'mon let's go."

"What's the place called?" Graham asks excitedly.

I wink at him and place a finger between my lips, silently telling him that it's a secret. Graham huffs and nods understandingly before hopping in the car. I fiddle with Santana's radio since she doesn't mind and I stop at one song that I know and begin to sing along with it. I wiggle my butt in my seat and look behind me to see Graham dancing in his seat. We share a laugh and I playfully nudge Santana to join us.

"Driving here." She reminds and uses one hand to point at the wheel while she smirks.

"Right." I smirk. It's only because she can't dance and drive at the same time.

After a few songs, we park in front of this restaurant called Food World. We get out of the car and walk inside. Graham examines the places carefully while I speak to the hostess. The woman nods and walks us to a booth. I slide in with Graham next to me and Santana sits across.

"It's pretty." Graham remarks as he observes the décor. The place is design like a retro bar. It's like the restaurant in the movie _Grease_.

The corners of my mouth lift up and I look over at Santana who's staring right at me. He's right. The view is absolutely pretty. Beautiful even. I realize that we've been staring for quite some time now. We blush at the same time and quickly scramble to our menus.

"I think I'll get the bacon and cheese burger." Santana announces with a cough.

"That sounds good." I murmur, my attention completely at the different foods. "I kind of want enchiladas. What about you Graham Cracker?"

"Apple pie!"

"Dessert later, baby."

Graham pouts and slides his kid's menu over to me. I giggle and look at it before suggesting. "Pizza?"

"Yes!"

A waiter comes in and asks to take our order. I tell him what Graham and I want and then Santana orders. He smiles and goes off to take our order to the kitchen.

"So how's your birthday going so far?" Santana asks Graham. Her elbows resting on the table and her eyes and ears attentive as she leans in.

"It's awesome." He answers with a wide smile. "I gots a new hockey stick and played three awesome hockey games with those kids and we won them all! An-and I got a cupcake for breakfast too!"

"A cupcake?" Santana gasps dramatically. She looks at me and smirks. "For breakfast?"

I grin mischievously. "Whaaat? It's his birthday!"

"It was good." Graham nods with confirmation.

"I should get one then to see for myself." Santana says teasingly.

"You should get me a whole box!" Graham tells her.

Santana's eyebrows shoot up. "A whole box? I don't know kid. I'll probably want something in return."

Graham's eyes narrow at her. "Yeah?"

I smile at the interaction. They're so cute acting all serious while talking about cupcakes.

"Here is your food." The waiter comes back and gives us our respective plates. "Enjoy."

We eat our meal in peace, casually throwing in comments about the place and bringing up everyday topics. I actually made Santana laugh out loud when I told her the story of how I first babysat when I was 12.

"Wait, wait, wait." Santana giggles and lifts up her hand. "Can you please repeat that?"

I flush with embarrassment and comply. "Okay so the woman told me the dog was in the backyard and I'm suppose to bring him in after ten minutes after she left. I completely disregard the dog for almost four hours."

Santana grins and shakes her head. Her arms are crossed while her shoulders were bouncing up and down. She leans against the booth and takes a deep breath before letting me comment.

"I was paying more attention to the baby!"

"Anyway, please continue." Her voice is filled with curiosity like honey in a hive.

"When I finally remembered the dog I ran outside to the back and found him missing!" I exclaim with a wide smile and my hands on my cheeks. My face is burning up. "I accidently close the back door and it locked itself! So I climbed the fence which was at least six feet tall and when I got to the very top…"

"Oh no." Her grin widens, knowing what happened next."

"Oh yes." I throw my head back and laugh. "_Riiiiiiip!_ Off my shorts!"

"Brittany!" Santana squeals and jokingly throws a fry. I giggle and eat it. "I would die of embarrassment! Oh my god."

"Right?! I got a huuuge scar from my calf to my butt." I pout for a second and pretend to rub my ass. "I totally didn't know I was bleeding."

"What happens next, Mommy?" Graham asks eagerly. He leans near me, his smile wide and excited.

"I walked around the house to the front door and found out that it was locked. So I had to go to the neighbor's house to ask them to use their phone." I roll my eyes. "I called my Dad and literally cried, telling him that I ruined my first babysitting experience."

"Well you were too young." Santana points out. She picks up her burger and tears a piece off.

"That's what my Mom said!" I exclaim with my hands in the air. "So anyway, my Dad said he would pick me up at the neighbor's place and I should wait by the house I was babysitting at. When I get there, I found two other neighbors trying to open the front door for me and you know what?"

"What?"

"The freaking dog was _inside_ barking at the two neighbors by the front door." I jokingly smack forehead. "And to make things even worse my Mom was the one that picked me up from the house. And never in my life have I wanted to die so badly."

Santana shakes her head and holds her stomach. Her laughs continue to flow right out of her along with Graham. "No way!"

"I was crying like a huge baby." I think back to that moment. "My Mom was scolding me, telling me that I was still far too young to babysit and saying that she knew that this would happen."

"Aww, poor Brittany."

"Right?" I snort. I finish up my enchiladas and wipe my mouth with a napkin before tossing it on the plate. I lean back and smile right at Santana. She is absolutely immersed in her burger. Her cheeks are puffed out while she chews with her mouth closed. She reminds me of a little hamster.

"Finished?" I ask after a while.

Graham and Santana are both in the same position as me. Leaned back with our hands in our stomachs. I talk to Graham about meaningless stuff with Santana throwing a comment here and there whenever she feels like she needs too. After a few minutes the waiter comes back and I hold my giggle when I see Graham's eyes go wide. The waiter is holding a big plate with a huge cake with five candles. He smiles brightly while he places the cake on the table. He claps and suddenly a few more waiters and waitresses appear singing happy birthday.

Graham's face turns red and turns to face me. He wraps his arms around me and buries his face against my body. I turn over to Santana and see her giggling at us. I throw he a wink and try to make Graham blow out the candles. Once the workers stop singing, I prop Graham onto my lap and he leans in closely to blow out the candles.

"Yay!" I squeal. I shiver when I hear Santana laugh right in front of me. My gaze shifts towards her again and she's holding her phone. I think she took a picture. Santana's lips part, giving me a full view of her flashing teeth.

All of the sudden Santana turns shy. She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear before saying. "Let's have some cake!"

I stare at her for a moment, admiring her for another second before nodding my head in response. I think this is the best birthday Graham has ever had and I think this is the best day I've ever had because I've been spending with Santana. I hope she feels the same way.


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Glee ©**

**A/N: I don't know whats going on in Glee anymore so can someone tell me?**

* * *

I rub my forehead and push my glasses up. Back against the headboard with Graham snuggled in my arm, I stealthily grab the blanket it and bring it towards us. The heater broke when we woke up this morning after coming home from dinner last night. I discovered that the landlord tried to fix the heater himself that night and ended up breaking it, causing half of the building to go without heat. I can't help but frown when I feel Graham shiver against me. I pull him closer and look around our small apartment.

Sometimes I think that I should move in with Dad. He's hardly at home and it would save me a lot of money. I actually spent almost maybe $400 or more on Graham's birthday. It was worth it though, despite the extra hours, I loved seeing his face light up at the stuff we did. Very memorable. I let out a small a laugh causing Graham to tilt his head up at me, asking what's so funny. I shake my head and lean down to kiss his forehead. He goes back to his cartoons while I fall back onto my thoughts.

Santana actually had a great time yesterday. Last night she gave us a ride back home. Graham fell asleep in the back and she offered to carry him while I hold his new gear but I decline. She has done enough already. Santana insisted but being stubborn as usual I firmly say no. Her facial expression was subtle but I caught the hurt look. I felt guilty and I was going to change my mind about the offer until she changed the subject. She told me she had an amazing time and she was hoping to do it again sometime. I'm even hoping right now.

The thing about Santana is that she's not one of those people that can leave an impression on you. I notice that out in public she just this ordinary woman that keeps to herself so she can be comfortable but let out something playful when she sees fit. But when it's just her and I, it's different. She's charming and seductive and enticing. She's like an onion with many layers…Not an onion per se, but more like a treasure chest buried deep in the ground. The more I dig, the closer I'll get to her.

"Is it time to go?" Graham suddenly asks, his voice rough from all the yelling from the hockey game yesterday.

I look at the TV and see that his show is done. An hour has passed already? Weird. I lift up my arm to check the time on my watch. I guess it is time to go. I look down at Graham affectionately and give him another big kiss on his cheek. He giggles and swats my hand away. I jokingly pout at him before reaching for my phone. I flip it open and see that I got a text from my Dad. He's ten minutes away from my apartment.

This morning my Dad called telling me that he's taking Graham out for a birthday day with his Grandpa since he felt so bad for missing out yesterday. He wanted to know when to pick us up but I insisted that I should stay home. It's been a while since I've had the whole place to myself and I could maybe use it.

After packing a bag for Graham (he's staying over at my Dad's place) I give it to him and right on time someone knocks on the door. Graham bounces over and opens it, squealing with excitement he latches onto my Dad's leg. My Dad laughs whole-heartedly and plants a big kiss on Graham's head.

"Hey kiddos!"

"Hey Dad."

My Dad gently picks Graham up and rests him on his hip. I stick my lip out and exclaim. "Be careful, Dad. You're not 30 years old anymore."

Dad rolls his eyes. "I'm barely 60, Britty Bee."

"Soon to be 60." I remind him.

"Yeah, yeah." He waves me off. "What time are you picking him up tomorrow?"

"Noon good?"

"Perfect." He turns to Graham. "We can eat ice cream for breakfast." He whispers loud enough for me to hear.

Graham giggles and nods his head before looking over to me. "Buh-Bye Mommy."

"Give Mommy hugs and kisses before you go, Graham Cracker." I say and approach my two favorite men in the whole wide world.

"Mwuah!" Graham gives me a sloppy kiss on my cheek before almost choking me with his little arms. He lets go and grins happily. "Now you gotta kiss Philip too!" He lifts up his raggedy stuffed dog. I smile at him and kiss it as well. "Love you Mom!"

"Love you too!" I giggle.

Dad smiles at us both and nods his head. "Alright, we're heading out. See ya tomorrow Britty Bee. Love ya."

"Bye Dad." I smile and walk them out the door.

Once they leave I'm drowned in silence. I take in the surroundings and figure that I should at least do some chores. I roll up my sleeves and tie my hair back. It's time to do this. I first go to the sink and wash the dishes from breakfast. The sponge is so old and dingy that I mentally put sponges on the list of things that I need to buy. I place the clean dishes in the dishwasher before making my way to the bed.

This is the first time I've made my bed in years. I grab the comforter and bring it close to my face. Gross. It smells horrible. I think it's also time to wash the sheets. I quickly strip the bedspread and pillowcases, placing them in the laundry basket. I stand up straight and furiously rub my arms; It _freezing_ in here! Ugh.

After a couple hours, I finish cleaning _everything_ in this place. The windows, the carpet, the small bathroom area, I even reached every corner. I collapse on the sheet-less bed and moan. I just have to clean the bed sheets and I'll be done. I stick to my sweat pants and grab my puffy coat before leaving with the laundry basket in my hands. I'm pretty sure there's a laundry mat just a block away. The washing machines here don't even work, thanks to the landlord of course. He tried to fix that and ended up breaking it and that happened last week.

The cold air attacks me without notice. I gasp in shock at the greeting but muscle through it. Other people maneuver their way around me as I push through the current. My face turns numb instantly and I regret not staying at home. But I'm already out here so better finish the job and go back home to watch bad television and cuddle in the freshly washed blankets.

I walk to the laundry mat and finish washing the sheets in thirty minutes and by the time I get back to the apartment I lazily and slowly put the sheets back on the bed. Once it's tidy, I kick off my slippers and allow myself to embrace the impact of the soft bed. I sigh in pleasure and bury my face in my pillow, smelling the freshly clean pillowcase. It's too quiet here without Graham and still too cold. I check the time and see that it's barely 4 o'clock. I guess I've been cleaning for hours.

I flick the TV on and bury myself in the blankets, watching soap operas on _Lifetime_ for two more hours until the hands on my wristwatch strikes 6:30pm. Since I have nothing else to do this evening I decide shower and dress casual so I can head over to The Pub. I wrap my scarf firmly around my neck because I know the temperature dropped since I last went out. I go back outside and quickly head over to the bar.

I push the doors to my job and smile to see how not crowded it is. It's usually pack but I guess not many people come this early to drink. Sugar spots me and flags me over to the bar. I grin at her and make my way over there to grab a stool to sit on.

"Hey Brittany!" Sugar squeals and blows me a kiss. "I thought you weren't working tonight."

"I'm not." I tell her honestly. "But Graham is spending the entire day with my Dad and the apartment got kind of lonely without him so—"

"Say no more!" Sugar interrupts me by shoving her hand in front of my face. "I know what you need, baby cakes. Finn! I need two pitchers of beer on the tap please!"

"Coming right up!" Finn hollers from the other side of the bar.

I scrunch my nose. "I don't need two beers, Sugar."

"Oh I know." She winks. "One of them is for me."

I roll my eyes and just in time two large pitchers of beer slide over to us. I look at the end of the bar and see Finn giving me a two-finger salute before taking to other costumers. I grasp onto the handle and lift it up. Sugar mimics my action and exclaims that tonight is the night.

"What?" I throw my head back and let out a laugh. It sounds like she's already drunk.

She giggles and shrugs. "We need to make some kind of toast before drinking this stuff."

An idea suddenly pops out. "Last one to finish has to clean the toilets tomorrow!"

A glint in Sugar's eye tells me how determined she is to win. "You're on."

"Bottoms up!" I shout before tilting the jug back in my mouth, letting the contents of the liquid go down my throat.

My eyes shut at the bitter taste but I force myself to drink it. There's so much that it feels like I'm drowning in this instead of consuming it. Before I know it I feel no more drops coming out of the pitcher so I slam it so hard on the counter that I'm sure that I left a crack on the bottom of it. I look at Sugar and see her just finishing up her beer. I grin.

"I win!" I cheer, raising my arms up and looking around to see if anyone was watching our little competition. No one was.

Sugar groans. "You cheated!"

I laugh and chant. "Someone's cleaning the toilets! Someone's cleaning the toilets!"

"Whatever." Sugar scoffs and takes away the empty pitchers. "I let you win."

"You're such a sore loser." I say to her before reaching over the counter to pinch her cheeks.

Sugar laughs and slaps my hands away. "Don't get too drunk tonight. You might do something that you'll regret."

I shrug. She's right. "Can I just have a pop then?"

"Sure, what kind?"

"Coke."

"Alright. I'll be back in a jiff." She says and walks off.

My fingers rapidly tap the counter top and I survey the back of the bar. They have healthy amounts of vodka and different margarita mixes. I hear that Tina is a whiz at making margaritas that every month on the first Friday night, Tina man's the bar with Sam and they make their famous concoctions. Mercedes and Mike gushes over their partner's talent and that they say I can't be really part of The Pub's family until I try one of their drinks. I'm actually excited to try it and be part of them.

"Is this seat taken?"

I turn around and actually gasp. Santana smiles sheepishly in front of me and gestures one more time at the stool next to me. I grin and nod. She pulls the stool close to her, the legs scraping the ground, and she plops herself on the cushion. Before she could speak any further, Sugar appears and sets an ice-cold cola in front of me. She spots Santana and asks what she would like.

"A bottle of Heineken."

"Be right back then!" Sugar smiles at the both of us and disappears again.

I finally turn to look at Santana, placing my elbow on the counter and leaning my head against the palm of my hand. "What on earth are you doing here?"

Santana laughs. "I'm actually here to drink unlike some people who just order soda."

I glance at my coke and open the can. "I'm just wasting time here."

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Santana shoots her eyebrows up and releases a teasing smile.

"Actually I'm off." Then I explain the whole story of how Graham is with my Dad today.

Santana nods and slightly smiles when Sugar comes back with a green bottle and hands it to her. Santana reaches in her wallet and asks how much it is. Sugar stares at us for a while until she asks if Santana knows me. We both nod and Sugar grins, telling us that our drinks are on the house for tonight since Sam isn't here.

"Thanks Sug!" I beam happily and take a sip from my drink.

"Anything for y'all." Sugar chuckles and tends to other customers.

Santana tilts her head back and places the end of the bottle's neck near her lips, lifting it up and taking in huge gulps of alcohol. She slams the bottle on the counter and exhales loudly.

"Thirsty?" I joke. I notice her body deflating and her eyes narrowing.

Santana lifts her head up and throws me a forced smirk. "Just a bit."

I roll my eyes "So tell me." My fingers tap together and my eyes never leaving her. "What _are_ you doing here?"

Santana shrugs and looks at her beer bottle, making her light demeanor change. "I-I usually go out to drink after work. The bar I use to go to is shut down so I come here now."

I frown at what she just said. That must be really unhealthy for her to do that. She shouldn't be wasting her body like that by drinking. She looks so young and has the rest of her life ahead of her. If she continues to do that she might have liver poisoning!

Santana must have sensed what I was thinking about and says. "I know, I know. It's a bad habit but I use to not do this. "

"What happened?" I say so gently that I couldn't even hear myself.

Santana finally looks away from her beer and glances at me. "It's complicated."

I curl my lips and try to reach over to put my hand over hers but she pulls away, causing me to frown. "Try me."

Santana chuckles sadly and takes another swing at her beer. "I don't know even know why I'm bothering telling you this Brittany. I hardly even know you."

I try again and place my hand on her arm. She doesn't retreat. "Well we're starting to get to know each other now. "

Santana looks at me with those big dark eyes. They almost look conflicted. She's a very guarded person, the way her body is stiff and how she has her arms crossed that it almost looks like she's hugging herself, protecting herself from something. I give her an assuring smile and I see her returning one back.

She takes a deep breath and unwinds. Taking another sip. Gulp. Her fingers fidget, weaving with one another like woven wool. She looks at me and says. "I—Uh—Use to be married."

My eyes widen and I lean back just a bit. I think she hinted this bit when she was apologizing for ruining my non-excitant marriage. I give her a tight lip smile and one thought came to mind. Was I the one that ruined her marriage?

"We separated in May, I think." Santana continues. She closes her eyes and a small line forms on her forehead. "Yeah May."

"What happened?" I quietly ask her and quickly add. "If you don't mind asking." I don't want to offend her or anything.

"I actually found her cheating." Santana spits out bitterly and drinks her beer. "But I think it's entirely my fault or both our faults."

"H-How come?" I slowly place the can of coke between my lips, tilting it back so I can wash the nervous taste out of my mouth. I guess talking about her failed marriage is bringing back old wounds.

"We were married for about…Five years." She squints her eyes at the booze in front of us. "Before our 6th anniversary we were drifting. My friend Quinn told me that it's natural for us to drift because we were both so immersed in our work. We passed our honeymoon phase, but the thing is my friend Quinn is married too and she is _always_ in her honeymoon phase with her wife. I thought I would always be that way with Elaine."

Elaine must be the ex-wife, I thought. I see that she's running low on her beer so I ask if she wants another one. She shakes her head and says that she isn't planning on getting hammered if she has company. I briefly smile at that.

"Then the fights started happening." Santana says as she combs her hair with her fingers. "I mean it was small stuff like washing dishes, paying bills, and going out with co-workers. But lately…I—Then—We were so pissed at each other that angry sex didn't make things better. Sometimes I would crash over at Quinn's place whenever Elaine and I get into really bad arguments."

I bite my lip and give her a pat of comfort on her shoulder when I see tears swelling around her eyes. Santana gives me a weak smile before chugging down the rest of her beer.

"When did…" I couldn't help but ask. "When did the cheating start?"

"You sure are nosy." Santana laughs genuinely.

"Sorry." My head goes down shamefully so she wouldn't see my red cheeks. "You don't have to answer that…"

"It's okay." Santana gently tells me. I feel her fingers pinch my chin, lifting my head up and making me look into her eyes. "I'm over it." She retracts her hand back to her lap and sighs out. "She was cheating on me with her co-worker from the hospital."

"Oh…"

"I saw her and the co-worker walking out of the movie theater together. I followed them back to our house and I saw Elaine kissing her. I got so angry that I actually didn't come home for days." Santana's voice suddenly turns rusty. "Elaine never noticed because she comes home late and wakes up so early that she doesn't bother to check if I'm home or not."

"That's horrible." I blurt. How can someone do that? I would never ignore a spouse of mine and pretend that they're not even there.

Santana waves it off and rolls the empty beer bottle between her hands. "And during our time apart I kind of got sexually frustrated so one night I drove around and picked up...company from the streets."

_Oh_, I bite my lower lip and look at my own hands. At least I know why she began to have sex with hookers. "Why didn't you just…masturbate? I mean, I do when I take care of myself."

This time Santana blushes and my eyes widen at what I just told her. But then I let it go because we already had sex together so it shouldn't be awkward talking about our sex lives to each other.

"I don't know." Santana sighs out and buries her face in her hands. A moment of silence passes over us before she looks at me.

"I guess a part of me wanted to cheat on Elaine so she can feel what I felt. I felt so pathetic and sad and angry and betrayed-when _she_ found out, she just showed apathy. She didn't care." Her voice suddenly begins to waver. "She d-didn't ca-care. She told me that we both cheated and it's time to m-move on."

"Oh Santana…" I whisper so quietly that I can't even hear my own voice.

A single tear slips and runs down her cheek. Santana buries her face in her arms on the counter and I watch her shoulders go up and down. Without a thought I pull Santana towards me and we wrap our arms around each other. Her breathing is unsteady and I can feel my shirt getting damp.

I hear her voice muffle against me saying. "I loved her."

My chest suddenly aches and I feel rush of cold wind blow against me. It hurts and all I can do is hold onto Santana tightly. The same unfamiliar feeling is back and it's making me want to cry as well. I lick my dry lips and cradle Santana in an attempt to calm her.

"I loved her." She muffles again.

"I know, San." I pull her closer and soothingly rub her back. The pain is growing immensely. "I know."

After a couple minutes Santana's soft sobs are finally lifting. She rips herself away from me, much to my dismay, and wipes the remaining tears away from her eyes. I smile gently at her and ask if she wants anything. She nods her head and mutters that she would like some water. I smile one more time before calling for Finn to give me a glass of water. He looks at me for a second before giving me tap water from the sink and sliding it all the way over to us.

"Thanks." Santana breaths out and gulps down her drink. She grasps the glass tightly and looks at me. "Thank you."

"Its just water." I smile.

Santana giggles and shakes her head. "I mean, thank you for listening. I've…I've never told anyone this. I told Quinn but only vaguely. What I just told you is almost the whole story."

I felt touched; someone has never entrusted me with something like this. It's just a story that Santana needed to let out but it's nice to know that she needs someone, someone like me. I shyly smile at her and say that whenever she needs to talk to someone, just call me up to let out all her frustrations.

Santana's eyes widen at my offer and before I know it, she grins and chuckles quietly. Shaking her head she tells me. "You are something Brittany Pierce."

I raise an eyebrow. "I never told you my last name, Miss Lopez."

Santana sticks her tongue out. "Graham may have informed me his whole name."

"That kid." I roll my eyes.

Our conversation slowly dies and we sit here at the bar. Santana quietly sips her water while I play with my fingers. The only interruption we got was Santana asking if she could smoke inside here. I shake my head and told her that we're not that kind of bar. She nods and we go mute.

My cell phone buzzes and I pull it out, seeing that it's a text from my Dad. I flip my phone and read the message. Dad says that Graham is fine and that they're having a movie marathon while eating chicken since they don't have turkey with them. I stifle a giggle and read that Graham is on a sugar rush that will probably knock him out in a couple hours.

"What's so funny?" Santana suddenly asks.

I grin stupidly at my phone. "My Dad just texted that he and Graham and doing fine that's all."

Santana smiles at me for a moment and suddenly offers. "You wanna… get out of here and walk around or something?"

I look up at her and think what's the harm? "I'd like that."

Santana's smile morphs into a grin. "C'mon, the nightlife here is sure amazing."

"That's true." I chuckle. We walk out of The Pub after saying goodbye to Sugar and Finn and everyone else working tonight.

The weather has been toning down lately. It's one of those weird things that happen in Chicago. Just yesterday it was raining and the next day it snowed three inches. Tonight is just chilly but still nice enough to have a walk outside. Santana quietly sings under her breath while we walk. I smile contently and listen to her. The song is familiar. Maybe I heard it on the radio.

"You know." Santana startles me. I look over at her and see her tilting her head back to look at the sky. "I've never seen stars at night."

My eyes widen. "Really?"

Santana chuckles and looks at me. "Yeah. I've lived in the city my whole life. My Grandpa took my brothers and I to the woods but we've never stayed till it was dark, so yeah." She shrugs.

I picture a little Santana in the forest with her brothers while they hunt for lizards. I can't help but grin. Santana stares at me questioningly and repeats what's' so funny. I shake my head and say something else. "The night sky in the suburbs is cool. You can actually see the stars."

"I bet it's cool." She comments dreamily.

"It is." I smile. "My brother and I had this trampoline in our backyard and at night during the summer we would lie on it and just star gaze."

Santana lets out a breathy laugh. "I wish I did that with my brothers. We just wrestled on the couch."

"Sounds rough." I giggle.

"It was." Santana sighs, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "It was fun though. Was your brother rough?"

I play with my fingers in my pockets and lick my chapped lips. "He was the gentlest brother ever."

Santana stares at me while we keep walking. I can feel her gaze burning my skin and before I can say anything she looks ahead. With the softest voice I've ever heard her make, she whispers. "I bet."

We continue to walk outside until our feet start to hurt. Santana suddenly spies a Starbucks across the street and without thinking she grabs my hand. My eyes widen at her rare move. She hasn't initialed a touch for a while. She drags me to the café and says that we should warm up with some coffee since we've been outside for more than two hours.

"Can I have a green tea?" I ask her. "Not a fan of coffee."

Santana smiles. "For some odd reason I figured you're a tea girl." And she leaves before I respond.

I gently laugh at her retreating figure and begin to look for a table. I see one in the corner and quickly walk towards it, removing my coat and sitting it behind the chair. Exactly three minutes pass until Santana shows up with steaming hot cups. She gives me my tea and sits across from me. She takes the lid off and a feeling in my gut bubbles as I watch her blow the steam away. Santana glances up at me and sees me staring.

"Something on my face?" She sounds confused.

I shake my head. "Just…admiring the view." I honestly tell her.

The blood in her face rushes to her cheeks and I grin foolishly at her. In my head I mentally declare that every chance I get with her I must embarrass her with compliments; just to see her blush like that. Santana chuckles once her cheeks go back to their normal color.

"I can't help but say the same thing to you." She teases and only laughs once she sees how red my face is getting. Gosh, it's warm in here all of the sudden.

We quietly sip our drinks in silence. We silently trade looks as we people watch and Santana would make sneering comments at people's wardrobe. It's mean but I gotta admit that it's pretty funny and true.

"Hey San?" I ask.

"Hmm?" She says while drinking her coffee.

"Yesterday…I'm glad you came with Graham and me."

Santana sets her cup down and looks at me. "It was a pleasure, Brittany." She smiles. "I had an amazing time. We—We should do it again sometime."

"Yeah." I tug my lips up at her and then a question pops in my head. "But it was also Thanksgiving. Why weren't you with your family?"

Santana cracks open a laugh and she shakes her head. "Again, I repeat: You are nosy."

My cheeks burn with embarrassment yet again. Great, she probably thinks I'm even weirder. "I'm—"

"It's okay." Santana stops my sentence. "Nothing personal, well to me it's not personal. It's just my Dad is busy with the law firm and my two older brothers are shipped off in Iran. They're in the military. Mom isn't even in the picture either."

"Oh." I notice her eyes lowering down at the table and I can see how much she misses them. "I think it's cool that your brothers are in the military. They're like everyday superheroes."

Santana looks at me with a grin. "Y'know, I've never thought of it like that. I like that idea."

"Me too." I smile and quickly hide it when I sip my tea.

"Me too." Santana repeats with a laugh.


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Glee ©**

* * *

"Achoo!" I sneeze loudly. I rub my nose furiously and hazily look at Ryder who stares at me with concern. His mouthed open but I can't hear him. The voices around us are making it hard for me to hear. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"You okay, Brittany?" Ryder repeats. Graham is sitting besides him, tilting his head to the side and looking at me. "Your cheeks look a little flushed."

"I'm fine." I reply with a sniff. My nose has been stuffy lately and it's terrible. "So how was Ohio?"

It's a typical Monday morning. On my schedule it said that it's my turn along with some others to help clean up The Pub. Ryder is one of them. I had to bring Graham along since Will and Emma were on vacation in Florida and will be staying there until the heater gets fixed, whenever that will be. So I either keep taking Graham to the day care or have him with me. I'd rather stick with the latter.

So after cleaning up, Ryder suggested we should get some lunch since it's noon. I was hesitant at first but soon agreed when I saw Ryder and Graham sporting on matching puppy dog eyes. How could I say no to that? Ryder even offered to pay! So here we are, sitting in a diner across from The Pub having lunch. I idly eat my sandwich while listening to Ryder talk.

"So my sister had to buy it instead of me." He says and rolls his eyes as if it was obvious.

Graham is only half-listening to him. In the beginning Graham was excited to hear Ryder's story but soon grew bored. I don't blame him; Ryder is kind of like a boring old man. His stories aren't as entertaining as the ones my Dad tells. Earlier he was telling us a story of what he and his god-mother did and now I don't even know what he's talking about. My only response to him is just chuckle, nod, and smile. So far it's been working for the past thirty minutes.

"That's why my Uncle got so upset." Ryder chuckles and takes a bite out of his burger.

"That's so funny." I force out a small laugh.

Ryder grins and decides to steer the conversation to me. "So what did you guys do during this Thanksgiving break?"

Graham's eyes beam and he exclaims. "Thanksgiving was my birthday!"

"No way!"

"Yeah!" Graham smiles and hops in his seat. "Mommy and me went to the aquarium and then I got new hockey gear and I played a game with the other kids at the ice rink and then I got cake! It was the best!"

Ryder and I share a look and chuckle at how excited Graham is. I reach for my water and say. "It was a very productive day." I sip the water and place it back on the table.

Ryder nods and plucks a French fry from his plate and dabs it in a pool of ketchup in the corner of his plate. "That must have been fun. Did ya win those games, bud?"

Graham nods. He clutches his spoon tightly and scoops some mac n cheese into his mouth. "Duh!"

"Duh, Ryder." I tease. "He's like the best player!"

Graham giggles and holds his strawberry milkshake with both hands. "You should'a seen me! I was like _whoosh!"_

"Whoaa." Ryder exclaims with feign awe. "I bet it was amazing!"

"It was!" Graham confirms. "Right Mommy?"

"Very amazing." I nod and go back nibbling on my sandwich.

After lunch, Ryder paid for our meal and offered to walk me. I thought for moment and wanted to shake my head but Graham beat me to it and told him that he could. Ryder and Graham fist bump while I roll my eyes. If Graham wasn't so against me dating other people, I would be thinking that he's trying to set me up with Ryder.

"Up you go, buddy." Ryder bends down and hikes Graham up on his shoulders.

I frown and tell him that he shouldn't be carrying Graham but Ryder smiles and says that he doesn't mind. He loves holding Graham and Graham loves the attention. We walk through the cold streets of Chicago until we reach my apartment. At the stoop, Graham asks Ryder if he could come inside so they could play, but I quickly told them that it's messy and that Ryder shouldn't see the mess.

"But Mom!" Graham cries out with annoyance while I give him a stern look.

Ryder must have seen this exchange so he coughs, breaking our intense staring. "It's okay, buddy. We can hang out next time when the place isn't so messy."

Graham pouts and looks up at Ryder. "You sure?"

"I'm triple sure." Ryder promises and looks over at me. "I'll see you tonight at The Pub?"

"It's my shift after all." I reply with a slight chuckle. With that said I swift Graham off his feet and we both wave goodbye at Ryder who waves back before he hails a taxi.

"How come you didn't want Ryder to come in, Mommy?" Graham asks as we make our way inside our apartment. He scans the place and sees it's spotless.

"Because that's an invitation to something Mommy doesn't want." I simply say and throw him on the bed.

He squeals and sits up, giving me a goofy smile before going underneath the covers. It's still too cold. I sneeze again and rub my nose. Graham peeks his head out and scrunches his nose. Suddenly he rolls around in the bed until the blanket is securely wrapped around him like an eggroll.

"Nice and warm, baby?" I coo while sitting down next to him.

"Toasty warm." He giggles and hides his head back in the blanket.

"Good." I reach over to the kitchen chair that's next to the bed and put my puffy coat on. "I'm freezing though."

Graham looks at me for a moment before unwrapping himself and sharing the blanket with me. I smile gently at my son and give him a good kiss on his cheek before nuzzling my face against his hair.

"Let's take a nap before Mommy's shift." I yawn and a cough follows out of me.

Graham nods and snuggles against me and grabs the remote beside him to turn on the TV. He silently lowers down the volume and whispers if this is okay. I tell him it is, and I wrap an arm around him before drifting off to sleep.

After a while I feel a hand touch my arm. I tense up at the contact and lazily open my eyes. Santana is hovering over me; her sultry smile makes my stomach twist into a nervous knot. My body makes me sit up and I look beside me to see Graham missing. My panic meter rises to the top.

"Relax." Her voice sounds soothing like classical music. "He's in the daycare."

"Day…care." I break the word into two, digesting them in my brain. I go through the slides of my memory, trying to recall when I dropped my son off.

Santana chuckles next to me, her hot breath tickles my neck. "What? Don't you trust me?"

I feebly nod. I trust her, I do. She offers a hand and I reach for her. Her touch is warm and gentle and she tugs at me till I'm on my feet. Santana wraps her arm around my waist and leads me out of my apartment. She presses her face against my temple and gives me a feather-like kiss. So soft that I don't even feel her lips press against me.

"Wh-Where are we going?" My voice is so dry that I'm surprised that I even made a noise.

Her mischievous laughter fills my ears and she blinds my sight with her hands. I feel her guiding me somewhere. The journey was tedious and enduring at the same time and in a flash I see we're in a building. My eyebrows furrow with bemusement and I turn around to find Santana missing, my eye dart around the room until I find a figure by a sky deck.

Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. My feet pick up a rhythm as I approach the person. I squint my eyes and see that it's Santana with her back facing me. Her side pressed against the window and I look down to see a clear glass ground. My heartbeat picks up and I hear it drumming my eardrums. I wonder if Santana could hear it.

"The view is amazing."

I lick my dry lips. "Yeah."

She turns around and leans back. Her glowing smile is drawing me closer to her like a moth. Santana lifts up her hand and offers it to me again. I take it without any reluctance. She yanks my arm and I stumble into her. I was going to get off of her but her arms slither around me, trapping me with her. I feel her breathing me in and burying her face into the crook of my neck.

"Isn't it nice?" She suddenly says.

It takes a second for me to realize that she's talking about the view in the sky deck. As Santana distracts herself with me, I take a moment to scan our little surroundings. Recognition scratches my face as I notice familiar streets and buildings. We're in the Sears Tower.

"Santana what are we doing in here?" I mumble in her ear. She tugs on my pants and her hands fight their way down.

"S-Stop." I stammer. I get a hold of her hands and stop them from going further down. Santana chuckles against me and licks my collarbone. My eyes shut tight and I gently push her away from me. "Santana, what's gotten into you?"

Her eyes darken with desire, slender fingers tiptoeing up my arm, and biting her lower lip as she stares at me. Her silence isn't a good enough answer for me. I ask again but my sentence is cut short when she presses her lips against mine. I easily melt like chocolate in her pocket and I kiss back. My fingers are caught in her tangled curls while her nails drag against the back of my neck. I'm pretty sure it's going to leave a mark.

"It's been too long." I pant against her skin. Kissing down her neck to her shoulder, un-buttoning her blouse and with a curtain-like entrance her breasts come into full view.

She throws her head back and releases a throaty moan. My palms rest upon her chest and I squeeze firmly. Playing with her breasts as if they're my own personal toys. Santana whispers my name and I feel my pants sliding down my legs until it hits the floor along with my underwear. I lightly bite her bottom lip, tugging it playfully while my other hand goes down her pants. Her panties are soaking wet and I tease her by rubbing her clit through the fabric. Santana hisses a swear word and she cups my intimate area, rubbing my clit roughly just to get back at me.

"Shit." I breathe out, closing my eyes, and bucking my hips towards her when she pulls away.

Santana smirks. "Take the shirt and bra off."

I listen to her, like how a puppy would listen to its master. My shirt drops and with one hand my bra comes down. Santana eyes me hungrily, bringing her own hand towards my left breast and tweaking the nipple. My breath hitches and my head rests upon the glass wall, my lower regions tingling with excitement.

"Let's do something fun." She purrs and turns me around.

I gasp when I feel the freezing glass wall against my breasts. It's so cold my nipples instantly harden. Santana's hand trails from my calf to my thigh. Her other hand squeezes my ass firmly before smacking it. An echoing sound backdrops around us and I bite my lip so a squeal won't escape.

She drags her hand to my entrance and plays with my nub. She presses hard and rubs it furiously. My forehead hits the glass by accident but I ignore the pain for pleasure takes over my entire body. I let out another moan and my body instinctively makes me stick my ass out towards her. I can just feel her smile wickedly at me.

"Please." I beg. Licking my lips and having my hands slide down the clear wall.

"Your wish." She slides a finger in me. "Is my command."

I groan with delight and push my ass further into her. Santana chuckles lightly and tells me to wait.

"I need more." I plead. A hiss comes out when a hand smacks my ass again.

Her hand rests on mine as she adds another digit. "All good things come to those who wait."

Santana slowly begins to pump in and out of me. I feel her spread those two fingers apart inside and I shudder with indulgence. Her hand leaves mine and it slithers around my body till it finds my clit. The pads of her fingers grind my sensitive nub. I whimper when I feel an extra finger inside.

"I bet you look so sexy pressed against this window." Santana moans in my ear. "What if there was a meeting across that building from us? They would be getting one hell of a show."

"Sh-Shit." I bite the inside of my cheek.

Suddenly it becomes all too much. I'm panting and grinding against Santana like an animal in heat. Her fragrance (lavender perhaps?) fills my head and my body stiffens for a moment when I feel her teeth biting my shoulder. My eyes squeeze tightly and I clench around her fingers.

"That's it." Santana murmurs. "Come for me."

* * *

"Mom!" Graham exclaims. "Moooommy!"

My eyes snap open and I stare at the ceiling. What happened? I sit up and see that I'm in my apartment and at the end of the bed Graham is sitting there with the TV on. He looks at me with a pout and crossed arms. I take a deep breath and rub my face.

"Mommy, I've been calling your name out for like ever!" He says, his voice hinting that he's upset.

"I'm sorry Graham Cracker." I breathe out. Sweat is running down my forehead and my cheeks feel flushed. "Mommy just had a…weird dream."

Graham tilts his head to the side and crawls over to me. "Yeah. You were making weird noises."

My eyes widen and I gape at him. "What kind of noises?"

He grins and starts making non-sexual grunting noises. I relax at least they weren't moans. I glance over at the clock and see that it's an hour away before my shift starts. I rub my forehead and get out of the bed. When I stand I begin to start to feel a little woozy. The room is spinning and it's making it awfully hard to walk.

"You okay, Mommy?" Graham asks from behind.

"Yeah baby." I mutter and quickly take an aspirin from the kitchen before changing.

Once I'm dressed, I pick up Graham and throw his bag over my shoulder. When we get outside I'm suddenly feeling colder than before. I hold Graham close as I maneuver over the people. I can't get my head to focus. It's weird because I'm still tired despite my nap and I'm having such a hard time holding Graham.

We get to the daycare in no time and I place Graham on the ground so I can sign him in. When that's done, I bend down and give my son a kiss on the head and on his cheek.

"So you'll be staying until six." I tell him. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay Graham Cracker?"

" 'Kay." He mutters. Graham looks at the bag I'm holding and points.

I smile and open the bag to pull out his old stuffed dog. "Here's Philip."

"Thanks Mommy." He beams and runs off to the other children who will be staying at this 24-hour daycare.

"Bye." I mumble more to myself than to my son.

I tug my coat closer to my as I go back outside to walk to The Pub. The snow started falling minutes before I left Graham so I have to face the dreading snowfall by myself. I get to The Pub safe and sound and see that it's already packed. Tina and Ryder are everywhere, taking orders and dishes, while Sugar, Finn, and Puck take the bar. A crowd in front of them whistles and cheers as Puck and Finn flip and spin bottles of alcohol before pouring it in a glass.

"Britt!" Ryder beams, a pencil behind his ear and a notepad at his side. "C'mon! It's cold and we could really use you."

"On my way." I try to smile. My face is burning and this dimmed lightly isn't helping me with my headache.

I scurry over to the back and put my stuff away before going back out there. Someone tosses me my notepad and pencil and I bounce from costumer to costumer. Two buff guys ask for six beers, a group of girls ask for margaritas, a couple asks for two shots of vodka, and a family asks for three pitches of beer with fries. My head is pounding from the chatter around me and my eyes are drooping. I hand the family their order before collapsing on a barstool.

It was barely two minutes before Tina calls me out to seat three people. I quickly stand back up and walk over to the entrance. Quinn is there with the brunette woman but I ignore them both when I see Santana stepping in with her eyes focused on her phone. When she looks up she actually grins when we make eye contact.

Santana takes a step forward. Tonight she's casual: purple shirt with a cool graphic design and black jeans. "Hey Brittany."

"Hey Santana." I shyly greet back and quickly say hi to Quinn since I didn't want to seem rude.

Quinn nods at the acknowledgement and introduces the brunette woman to me. "Hello Brittany. This is my wife Rachel. Rachel this is Brittany."

Rachel smiles brightly and nods. "It's a pleasure to meet you Brittany."

"And the pleasure is all mine." I grin. I move to the side and tell them. "Let me show you to your seats and I'll be right with you."

When they walk pass me, I froze when I felt faint fingertips running down my arm. I look at Santana and see her giving me a brief smile before catching up with her friends. I leave them to themselves and go look after the other customers. I smile politely at each one and ask how's everything. I accidently spin around too quickly, which caused a painful throb to ache in my head. I whimper quietly, my headache is getting worse. I stand still and place a hand on my forehead, closing my eyes and taking deep breathes.

"Brittany?"

I look up and see Ryder looking at me with concern. He quickly places the tray of drinks for his table and quickly supports me with his arms. His musky stench goes up my nose and it is nauseating. "You look awful, Britt."

I let out a scratchy laugh. "I'm pretty sure every girl would love to hear that."

Ryder smiles and shakes his head, floppy hair going everywhere like a dog. "You know what I mean." He lets me stand on my own, his hand lingering on my body for a few more seconds. "I think you need to go home."

"I can't." I sigh. Rubbing my sweaty hands on my jeans and concentrating on my breathing. I glance around me and see that some people were staring at me, especially Santana. I gulp. "I need the money so I'm just pulling through. Besides it's just a headache. It'll go away."

Ryder stares with uncertainty. "Okay…" He doesn't believe me. "Well I guess you better go back to those three ladies over there then. I think they're ready to order."

I go back to work. Sugar hands me my orders and I save Santana's table for last. I place the drinks and food in front of them and Rachel and Quinn immediately dig in. Santana sits there and looks at me like I'm the only person in the room. Have you and a loved one ever look at each other for so long that you feel like you're in a different world? That's what it feels like right now and it feels…warm.

"Britt!" Sugar hollers behind me.

I whip around, wincing at the sudden movement, and see Sugar balancing four trays. I run over to her and grabbed a couple to help her out. I glance over at Santana and see her immersed in her food and friends. Sighing, I go back to work.

Customers come and go. Some drink by themselves while others watch the game on the flat screen TV. A man calls me over in the corner and asks me to refill his drink. I take his glass and walk straight to the bar. My headache turned into a migraine twenty minutes ago. It's throbbing and it's making it hard for me to walk. Finn refills the glass and places it back on the tray. My chest contracts tightly and I cough into my arm before picking the tray up.

I go back to the man in the corner and hand in his drink. All of the sudden everything seems too much for me. The dim lighting, the loud sounds from the TV and the screaming and shouting from the people. The smell of alcohol drowning me, the humid air mixing in with the cold air whenever people come in and out. It's all too much. My body gives up and it turns dark.

* * *

Santana forces herself to stop gazing at Brittany and goes back to the conversation Quinn and Rachel are having. Quinn nods at Rachel understandingly who is currently complaining about her Chief of Medicine at the hospital. Rachel grumbles angrily and takes a swing at her beer.

"I swear I think they made a mistake on hiring him." Rachel groans, shaking her head and munching on a chip. "He doesn't know what he's doing half the time! A couple months ago he accidently gave this elderly woman double the dosage of her medicine! She ended up having a seizure, which I had to control! The board didn't even think twice of firing him. They just let him go! And then just last week he made the same mistake again!"

"It's okay, babe." Quinn comforts, looking at her with that enduring look Santana has gotten used to over the years of knowing them.

"They should fire his ass then." Santana decides to chime in. She tears some napkins to pieces idly and looks up at her friends. "Since he's clearly that irresponsible."

"It's just a couple of mistakes." Quinn comments. "I don't think it's something to—"

"Brittany!" Someone shouts. They drop their tray and suddenly people start getting up to look over

Santana's ears perks up as of a dog and follows the guy running. She bolts up, her knee accidently hitting the table. Her eyes scan over to a body on the ground with a mop of blonde hair all over the face. And Santana immediately knows who it is. "Brittany."

Her face twists into concern and she's on her feet, her pace picking up and shoving the people. She looks down and see Brittany unconscious with some weird old-school Justin Bieber haircut guy besides her.

"B-Britt." Santana's voice cracks. Her knees give up and she lands on them. She shuffles towards Brittany and cups her face. "Brittany?"

"Who are you?" The guy snarls at her.

Santana snaps her eyes towards the guy. "Who the fuck are you?!"

He stands up, towering over her, and puffing his chest, trying to make himself more threatening. "I asked you first."

"I asked you second." Santana snarls back. She gets up and is trying not to smack his face with a table. "What the fuck did you do to her?!"

"I'm Ryder." He tells her, taking one step closer to her so close that Santana could feel him breathing on her. "And I'm Brittany's friend." He roughly pokes her chest.

"Well So am I." Santana glares. She shoves him roughly. "Her _best_ friend. I find it hard to believe that Britt's actually friends with you. You have fucking donkey teeth, a baby face, and ugly ass hair all mixed in one."

Ryder's nose flares up and his eyes harden. "You wanna go? I don't mind hitting a girl."

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing, donkey teeth." Santana snorts.

"What's going on here?" A blonde man approaches.

"Brittany fainted, Sam." Ryder tells him. "And this bitch is—"

"Who you callin' bitch, fuck face?!" Santana exclaims.

"Santana!"

She turns around and finds Quinn and Rachel shoving their way in the crowd. When they get in the middle, they gasp when they see Brittany on the ground. Rachel's eyes widen and she immediately asks what's wrong. Ryder tells her without breaking eye contact with Santana. Rachel nods and quickly gets down on her knees to inspect Brittany.

"What's she doing?" The tall lanky bartender asks from the crowd.

"She's a doctor." Quinn answers with pride lanced in her voice. "She knows what she's doing."

"Santana?" Rachel calls out. "I need you to lift her head for me."

Santana shoves Ryder one more time before kneeing down before Brittany. She gently lifts Brittany's head and places her on her lap. Santana wipes the hair away from Brittany's face and sees bags under her eyes. Her face is pale white but her cheeks and nose are crimson. It's almost as if she's dead. Santana's stomach churns at the thought. No, she's not dead. She's just unconscious.

In this angle, Santana observes, she looks like an angel. She's peaceful and beautiful and almost…glowing. Her breathing is noticeable, chest rising up and down. She's sleeping. A ghost smile graces Santana's lips and she strokes Brittany's cheek with her thumb.

"She's burning up." Rachel exclaims. She re-positions tangled legs and arms and leans her head near Brittany's mouth. The whole bar is silent, waiting for news. "She's breathing. She just needs to go home and rest for a couple days."

"I got her." Santana says and scoops Brittany's entire body into her arms.

Ryder frowns. "Actually I—"

"You gotta stay Ryder." Sam throws his hand on Ryder's shoulder. "We have a lot of customers tonight. We could use all the help we can get."

Santana smirks when she sees Ryder deflating with defeat. She looks over at Quinn and says. "Can you give us a ride to my place?"

Quinn nods. "I'll have to warm up my car first. Think you can wait a couple minutes?"

"Yeah." Santana grunts and carries Brittany to their booth.

She gently places Brittany beside her, her arm around her shoulders cradling her like a glass doll. Santana sighs contently and leans against Brittany. Being this close with her makes her feel like she's home. It's like she's been lost in the woods and Brittany is the house she needs in order to stay warm. She hasn't felt like this in ages. Santana timidly grasps Brittany's hand and intertwines it with hers.

Why is she thinking like this? These feelings with Brittany are obviously one-sided, Santana thought. There's absolutely no reason to make a move. She probably has a boyfriend that Santana doesn't know about. Her grip tightens around Brittany.

"She's warm." Santana mutters. Playing her fingers and noticing how longer they are than hers. Something stirring startles Santana, looking at Brittany she observes her eyes opening but she still looks drowsy.

"Gr-Graham…"

Santana's eyes widen with alarm. "Britt? Where's Graham? Is he at home…"

"Daycare." Brittany breathes out. She couldn't say more. Brittany slipped away in slumber.

"Santana?"

Santana's eyes snap over to Rachel and Quinn. With one deep breath Santana lifts Brittany up again and carries her out of The Pub with her friends behind her. Santana sees the car and places Brittany in the back seat with her besides her. Quinn gets in the driver' seat with Rachel next to her and the car moves.

"Where's the nearest daycare?" Santana blurts.

Rachel's mouth twists and she turns around. "Why?" She asks with confusion.

"Cause I said so dwarf." Santana glares.

Quinn chuckles and moves the steering wheel. "There's one just a block away."

"Let's go." Santana snaps her fingers.

The drive to the daycare was tedious but in actuality it was ten minutes. It only felt so long because Rachel is very choosy with her Broadway music and kept skipping songs. Santana was ready to scream at her when the car halts.

"Well we're here." Quinn hums.

"Okay." Santana gently moves Brittany off of her and leans her against the window. "Watch Britt. I'm gonna be back quick."

Santana opens the door and hops out of the car. Bright lights capture her attention and she sees bolded letters: 24/7 A DAY IN CARE. Santana snorts at the lousy name and looks over at the window to see a couple children playing while the rest sleep. Santana goes inside and sees a woman by a desk. She walks up to her and tells her she's picking up Graham Pierce.

The woman nods. "Alrighty and who might you be?"

"I'm Brittany's friend." Santana tells her. "We're close."

"Alrighty then." She hands her a clipboard. "Just sign him out here and I'll go fetch him for ya."

Santana writes Graham's name and then her's and the time she picked him up. Once that's finished Santana sees the woman back with Graham in her arms. She hands Santana a red back and gives Graham to her.

"Everything is all in there." She goes back to her desk. "Have a nice night."

"Yeah you too."

Santana stands still in the middle of the lobby and looks at Graham. He's squirming in her arms and she couldn't help but smile. He's beautiful. She's not being creepy, it's just she hasn't seen a child as something special before. Santana has never been the type of person to like kids. She loathes them (especially if they spill something on her clothes or start screaming in the movie theaters or in restaurants.) Except Graham is different.

"Must run in the family." Santana murmurs.

She watches him closes as his eyes flutter open, revealing a deep shade of blue, a lot darker than his mothers, she notes. His eyebrows furrow with bewilderment and he finally looks up at Santana, eyes questioning her silently.

"Wh-Where's my Mom?" He croaks out. His eyes darting around like a tennis match, back and forth, back and forth. Graham tries to seek Brittany in the lobby but he doesn't see her familiar figure.

Santana rubs his back relaxingly. "She's in the car, kid.

"Oh." Graham relaxes. "How come?"

"Mom's sick." Santana hums and walks out of the daycare and back into the car.

Graham looks around the car, briefly looking at Quinn and Rachel who smile politely at him. His eyes finally settle on Brittany, who is leaning against the window and sleeping soundly. Graham fists Santana's shirt and pulls it close to him, acting as if he's going to lose her.

Quinn and Rachel share a smile and turn back around, starting the car up again to continue on driving. Rachel continues to skip songs while Quinn hums contently as usual. Santana didn't even bother to yell at Rachel. She didn't want to wake Brittany up and startle Graham.

"How come you gotta pick me up?" Graham pouts.

Santana glances down at Graham and snorts. "What's wrong with me?"

"I just think you're still a meanie." Graham mutters under his breath, his gaze shifting over to Quinn.

"I'm trying not to be one." Santana softly smiles.

Graham hums. "Sometimes you're not."

Santana chuckles and ruffles his hair. "Alright little man."

The rest of the ride is quiet. Rachel finally decided to listen to the Rent soundtrack, which caused Graham to ask questions about it. He hasn't seen Rent or any Broadway Musical Rachel has mentioned to him so he decides that he and Brittany should go watch some musicals.

"I don't know, little man." Santana exclaims. "If you start watching all those you might turn into Berry."

"Blueberry?" Graham scrunches his nose.

"Actually it's Fabray." Rachel corrects. "But Graham, dear I'm the so called Berry. But I am now married to this lovely lady." She gestures to Quinn, who nods her head. "And now I am carrying the name Fabray. Which isn't what I wanted, for you see I wanted to keep my maiden name and Quinn and I did not want to combine ours so—"

Rachel stops talking when she notices the confused look Graham has on and the murderous glare Santana is giving her. Rachel rolls her eyes and says. "Long story short, I decided to take Fabray because Rachel Fabray sounds very indelicate."

Graham frowns. "What does that mean?"

"We're here." Quinn stops the care and turns around. "Do you need any help, San?"

Santana bites her lip. Her eyes dart from a sleeping Brittany, to Graham's bag, and Graham. Sighing, she nods her head. "Can you take Graham the bag to my apartment? I'll take Britt."

They get out of the car, Rachel with Graham in her arms and Quinn with the bag. Santana gently picks Brittany up and takes her out of the car. She closes the door with her leg and walks up the stoop. They go to Santana's floor and get to her door. Quinn pulls the key out of Santana's pocket, ignoring the playful wink Santana gave her and open the door. Graham's eyes wander around the place and he notices that it's a lot nicer than his home.

"Lemme just put Brittany in bed and I'll take care of the rest." Santana says and begins to walk to her room.

"Can I come?"

Three head flicker over to Graham. He stares at Santana, tilting his head to the side. "Please?"

Santana looks at Rachel and nods. Graham squirms out of Rachel's grasp and he scurries over to Santana, grabbing her pants leg. They walk into Santana's room and Graham stands beside Santana, watching her slowly putting Brittany on her bed. She tucks her in and places a hand on Graham's head.

"C'mon little man." Santana leads him out and back to the living room where Rachel and Quinn are standing.

"We're gonna head home, S." Quinn tells her. "I have a meeting at 2."

Santana smirks. "Better kick ass." She raises her fist and Quinn taps it with hers.

"I feel so old and lame for doing that with you." Quinn shakes her head and laughs.

"We're hip." Santana grins.

Rachel rolls her eyes and bends down to Graham's height. "Hope you're safe with Santana."

Graham shrugs and looks over at Santana and Quinn. "I guess."

Rachel smiles and stands back up, looping her arm with Quinn's. "Let's go, honey."

Quinn nods. "Bye S. Nice to meet you Graham."

Santana leads her friends out to the door and closes it. She sighs and turns around to see Graham standing there. She runs her fingers through her hair and sighs out loud. She smiles at him as she walks towards him and leads him to the couch, plopping herself on it and having Graham sit next to her.

"I think we should go to bed now, little man." Santana tells him tiredly.

Graham scrunches his nose. "Where will I sleep?"

Santana smiles. "Next to your Mom. Come on."

"But I'm not tired." He blurts out.

Santana sighs and gets up, leading him back to her room. "It's like almost 2 in the morning, kid. I think Brittany would want you to be sleeping by now."

Graham thinks for a moment. "I guess."

Santana gently picks Graham up and tucks him in beside Brittany. She pulls the covers all the way and gently pats his head. "Night."

"Where you gonna sleep?"

"In the living room." Santana shrugs. "It's okay though."

"Night Sa'tana."

She smiles at him and then at Brittany. "Night you two." She turns the lights off and closes the door.

* * *

**Edit A/N: Okay I forgot to add that in that sex-dream Britt had, they're having sex in the Sears Tower Skydeck (I refuse to call the Sears Tower, the Willis Tower. You should google it just to see what it looks like if you don't know what it looks like. Anyway I thought that would be sooooo cool to have sex there. **

**Oh and those of you who read All is Fair i'm working on a chapter as we speak :) so hold on tight.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own Glee ©**

**Fuck, i am so sorry you guys. I uploaded the wrong chapter 10 and I know there's some confusion so I hope this will clear it up.**

* * *

The sound of a car honking wakes me up. My eyes fly open and I see a window with its curtains pulled to the side. Cars lined up and driving, people in their coats walking in the sidewalks. I glance down at Graham who is curled up to me. I smile and pull him closer. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. It's a lot warmer in our apartment than usual. I snuggle in the bed sheets and smile. It smells like Santana.

Santana.

Gasping, I sit up and look around, this bed isn't mine, the TV in front of us isn't there, and everything else that's mine isn't there. A jiggle from the doorknob startles me and the door opens, revealing Santana taking a peek in the room. She sees me sitting up and she opens it further, smiling like she just won the lottery. Her hair is messy and she's in the clothes that she wore last night.

She walks towards me and sits on the bed, making it dip down towards her. Her hand pushes some hair out of her face and fixes it up just a bit so she doesn't like she just woke up.

"How are you feeling?"

My stomach is still churning and my nose is clogged up so I'm breathing through my mouth. My body feels weak and frigid. "Terrible."

Santana nods. "Yeah. Do you remember what happened last night?"

I look back in my memories from yesterday and try to recollect them. Flash backs of having lunch with Ryder and Graham is there, the sex dream I had of Santana, dropping Graham off, and going to The Pub and seeing Santana there with Quinn and Rachel. I remember walking around talking to customers and giving them their orders. I go back to reality and see Santana looking at me with concern. I guess I spaced out for more than a couple seconds.

"I don't remember." I sigh sadly and shiver subtly.

But Santana saw it. She takes a blanket that was folded neatly at the end of the bed and wraps it around me. I smile gratefully at her while she shrugs it off. Her hands hang at the edges of the blanket, just where my hands are and they linger there for more than a few seconds. Santana pulls back and lets out a tiny smile.

"You fainted." Santana tells me. "I got a bit worried and rushed over there. Rachel had to check you out to see if you were alright."

I scrunch my nose. "Rachel?"

Santana chuckles softly and bops my nose. "Yeah. She's a doctor at the Chicago Hospital."

"That's cool." I mumble. A brief silence distracts us until someone's stomach growls. We look at each other, asking if it was one of us who were hungry. We both shake our heads.

"I'm hungry, Mom." Graham sits up; blonde hairs sticking everywhere like a monster. He rubs the sleep away in his eyes and looks up at Santana and I.

We glance at each other and breaking out into smiles. I push the covers away from me and try to get up but Santana stands in front of me and insists I stay in bed. Pouting, I look at her and see that her mind is set and I can tell that I won't be leaving this bed any time soon.

"How am I suppose to make my son breakfast then?" I say.

Santana winks. "I can whip up something good for you and him."

"Nonsense." I shake my head. "I'm not really hungry."

"That's what all the sick people say." Santana tells me and walks out of the room.

I look back and Graham and see him playing with Philip in his arms. I smile gently and drape my arm around him. I watch him toy around with the stuffing that's falling out of the stuffed dog and poking the button eye. I poke the stuffing back inside Philip so it won't spill all over the bed.

"We have to fix him up." I tell him.

Graham nods in agreement and hugs it.

"Did I pick you up last night, baby?" I ask him, petting down his messy hair.

Graham sticks his bottom lip out and thinks for a second. "Santana picked me up."

"She did?" I bite the inside of my cheek. I shouldn't be worried about that. Santana was the one who picked Graham up, but I should have a little chat with the woman at the front desk. She shouldn't be letting people pick up kids all willy nilly like that. What if it wasn't Santana who picked up Graham? It could have been a kidnapper!

But then again I don't know anyone who holds a grudge against me. But still…

"Okay!" Santana pops back in, holding a plate and a bowl in her hands. She gives a plate of eggs and toast to Graham and passes me a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

My eyes widen and I look up at her. "Santana you didn't…"

"Relax Britt." Santana insists. "You're sick and you gotta get better fast. Besides chicken noodle soup is for the soul."

"Isn't that a book or something?"

"Probably."

Graham is already munching away with his food. I lightly nudge him and ask him what do we say when we receive things? He thinks for a moment before saying. "Thank you!"

Santana gives Graham and gentle look and she reaches over to ruffle his hair up. "No problem, little man."

We settle back into silence. Graham chews and enjoys his food while I quietly eat my soup. I fish out all the noodles and chicken pieces and save the broth for last. I bring the bowl near my face and drink the last of my soup. I place the bowl on my lap and see a smiling Santana looking at me. The heat rises to my cheeks and I look down at my empty bowl.

"You guys done?" Santana asks after a while.

Graham grins and hands the plate back and I do the same. Santana gives another smile before disappearing out the door. I hear the sound of water running and some dishes moving. Graham slides off the bed and waddles out the door to where Santana is. I stay in bed for a bit, just cherishing the quietness and the warmth. I lie back down and stare at the ceiling.

I shut my eyes and think for a moment. I literally can't afford to pay rent next month because I'm probably going to miss work tonight and God knows how many other nights if I'm still sick. Damn it Brittany, I think to myself. Stop thinking about rent. It's always rent this, rent that. I need to focus on getting better. Maybe if I try to take all the antibiotics at once I could feel better faster.

It's funny how I think like this. Isn't there anything else to think about? It's always about money. It was never like this though. Perhaps it started when I became an adult or maybe the day I realized that life isn't all about fun and games. It's suppose to be serious and in order to gain more in life, you have to be stern. I don't know how life is supposed to be. Am I supposed to guide it myself? Oh gosh Brittany. You're thinking way too deep.

I decide to get up after a few more minutes. I began to start shivering when I got up so I wrap the blanket, that Santana put on me, around my body. I walk around, looking at picture frames, little knick-knacks, and other stuff lying around. Most of the picture frames hanging around the walls are little doodles drawn on computer paper. They're mind-blowing.

I stop by her dresser because those picture frames on there are pictures of people. One frame has her, Quinn, and Rachel together in bikinis by the beach. They look younger. I lift a smile and look at the next one. There's Santana with two men in their military uniforms. Must be her brothers. They look just like her except more masculine and taller, a lot taller.

Another photo has a younger Santana with her brothers and a couple behind them, probably their parents. They're all smiling brightly and behind them is the entrance to Six Flags Great America. I break out in a grin. I bet Santana was nine or something in that picture. She looks adorable with that Bugs Bunny hat on her head.

I hear laughter roaring from outside this room. I walk out of here and step over to the living room. I walk closely and see Santana and Graham laughing at each other by the coffee table. They have paper scattered all over the table with colored pencils in their hands. Santana grins and lifts up her paper, showing Graham a drawing of a pig with huge feet, with a dopey smile, and a big mustache. Graham bursts out laughing and I smiled.

Graham then scoots over into Santana's lap and begins to draw. Santana smiles so brightly that I'm sure the sun is nothing compared to her. She grins and points over Graham's shoulder, telling him that he's doing a great job. Graham doesn't reply though, his tongue is sticking out and his eyes are narrowed, focusing all his attention at his drawing. It's so cute that I let out a giggle.

Santana's eyes rake over at me and her smile got bigger, which I thought wasn't possible. My feet begin to pick up and I find myself sitting next to them. Santana looks at me with that content expression on before helping Graham with his drawing.

I look down at the coffee table and I can easily pick out the ones that were Graham's. His drawings were all simple and had stick people and animals while Santana's were more detailed and cartoonish. I pick up a blue colored pencil and began to draw a unicorn. I start off drawing the body like a bean and then added legs, which were pretty much like nubs. The head looks like a side-ways 'L' with a horn sticking out of it and eyes.

"Unicorn!" Graham guesses as he slides out of Santana's lap.

"Right!" I give him a high-five.

Santana giggles and takes her purple colored pencil and starts drawing something. In mere seconds she's finished and she shows it to us. It's a better drawing of a unicorn and I can't help but let out a laugh. It's farting rainbows!

"Oh my god!" I laugh and the next thing I knew I started to have a coughing fit.

I grimaced at the sound. Its hoarse and it hurts my throat. Santana looks at me with concern and reaches over to cup my face. I freeze at her touch. It's burning me but I don't pull away. I let it sting and it's the best feeling in the world. Santana stares at me, her eyes wide as if she's done something wrong. Her hand slowly slides away from my cheeks.

"You're still hot."

"Excuse me?" My eyebrows shoot up.

"I-I meant you're wah-warm!" Santana gapes with her face turning into a crimson color. "Like y-you have a fever! That kind of hot! N-not the other kind!"

I decide to mess around with her. "So I'm not the other kind either?"

Santana's eyes grew even wider and her mouth almost drops to the floor. "You are! I-I…Cause you..I just…" She buries her face in her hands and groans.

Graham giggles beside me while I smile with amusement. I've never seen her embarrassed like this. It's hilarious. "It's okay Santana. I was just teasing you."

She lifts her head up and looks at me, her bottom lip sticking out and her eyebrows furrowed. She's pouting. I giggle at her and lightly pinch her cheek. She takes it like a champ and rolls her eyes and swats my hand away before I could pinch the other.

"I wanna watch TV." Graham points at the remote control.

"Graham." I scold. "That's rude."

Santana chuckles and hands my son the remote. "It's okay, Britt. There ya go, bud."

Graham grins, getting up and going over to the couch. He pushes the button and the TV turns on. I smile at Santana and thank her. She shrugs modestly and collects her colored pencils all over the coffee table. I decide to help her out by taking all the paper and stacking them together.

I let out a sneeze, making Santana glance over to me. "I think you should take some medicine."

"I'm fine." I mumble. I set the stack of papers to the side and wrap the blanket tighter around me. Is it me or is it cold in here?

"It's you." Santana answers lightly. She gets on her feet and runs her fingers through my hair before walking over to the thermostat. "It's pretty warm in here. So yeah, it is you."

"Great." I huff and bury my face in the blanket. Sighing comfortably and leaning back against the coffee table, I wiggle my toes playfully and began to count them just for fun.

I hear Santana snort and the next thing I know I'm being picked up. I yelp in disbelief and hear Graham's laughter fading as Santana carries me back to her room. I look up at her and see her fixing her gaze at her bed. She slowly tucks me back in and disappears for a moment. Before I could bat an eyelash, Santana comes back with a bottle of cough syrup in her hands.

"Santana nooo." I whine. I roll in the bed sheets and hide myself from Santana, who I could hear is chuckling.

"Britt." Santana calls out. I can feel her smile piercing through me. "This will make you feel a lot better. Trust me."

"I don't wanna." My voice muffles. Despite my head pounding and runny nose, I still refuse to take the medicine. It always tastes icky and has a terrible after taste.

"Please Britt?" Santana pleads. I'm surprised that she's begging.

I poke my head out and see a spoonful of red liquid. Grimacing, I reluctantly open my mouth. Santana lets out an airy laugh and spoon-feeds me. I was waiting for the bad taste to fill my mouth but all I got was cherry. I look at Santana while licking my lips. I'm not trying to be seductive or anything but that actually tasted pretty good.

Santana grins. "I'm glad you like it. I bet you didn't know they make flavored medicine these days, huh?"

I roll my eyes. "So what now?"

Santana checks the time on her phone and says. "Well the medicine should make you drowsy but I don't know when that will happen so I guess we could talk until you feel sleepy."

"Alright." I chirp and scoot over to the left side. "Sit next to me so you don't have to kneel the whole time.

Santana gives me a look, like she's appreciating every little thing I do, before settling besides me. We relax and simultaneously lean back against the backboard. I wiggle my toes that are poking out from the blanket and basically feel Santana smiling at me. It's hard not to smile back at her.

"Thanks." I tell her.

Santana knows what I'm talking about. "It's not a problem, Brittany."

I frown and she asks what's wrong. "I don't like it when you call me Brittany. I mean you've been calling me Britt and I kind of like that…" Why did I tell her that? Fuck, maybe I shouldn't have voiced my thought.

Santana gives me a look; I don't know how to describe it. It's mixed with adoration and confusion and something between that I can't read. She lifts her lips up and says. "Okay. Brittany is too long to say anyway."

I actually giggle. "Santana is too long to say."

"Yeah?"

"That's why calling you San is better."

"Good." Santana sighs contently, her thumbs twiddling together almost shyly. "I like it."

We set ourselves in inaudible again, but as I probably said before, it's not awkward. It's nice and peaceful. If I was stranded on an island and I had to pick a person (besides Graham) to be stuck with I'd pick Santana any day. I feel like she could actually get me. I mean back in high school I was pretty weird but I toned it down ever since Graham was born. But in high school, I was so air-headed and curious and…stupid. No one got me besides my brother and when he left, there was no one else. Despite that though, I'm happy I waited long enough to meet someone who finally understands me in some level.

"Sleepy?"

"Nope." I pop the 'p' at the end. "You?"

Santana smirks. "Not really since I'm not the sick one."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. So wanna play 20 questions?"

Santana pauses for a moment and thinks. "Sure, why not. Who goes first?"

"The hostess of course." I grin cheekily. I get myself comfortable by snuggling in deeper in the blanket. I look up and see Santana staring at me, like she doesn't quite know what to do with me.

"Alright." Her voice suddenly drops into almost a soft murmur. "How old are you?"

I give her the 'really?' look because that was kind of a boring question. "22."

"Really?" Santana's eyebrows shoot up near her hairline. "I would think you'd be much older."

"Huh?"

"Like around my age." Santana chuckles. "But I'm not that old. Just six years older."

"You're 28?" I'm surprised. "You look so young! Like really young!"

Santana grins. "I get that a lot." She lifts up her finger and bops my nose. "Your turn."

"Oh! Okay, here's one. Would you rather talk like you have walnuts in your mouth or walk like you have walnuts up your ass."

"What the fuck." Santana questions. Her eyebrows now furrow down in confusion. "What kind of question is that?"

"Answer it!" I exclaim while giving her a playful stern look.

Santana scoffs and crosses her arms. "Walnuts up the ass. My voice is too sexy to be muffled."

Ain't that right, I think to myself. I giggle at her and wait for her to question me. Santana smiles and asks. "What is your dream job?"

I shift my gaze at the ceiling and without missing a beat I say. "I would love to be like one of those journalists that would travel around the world."

I can feel Santana's eyes burning through me. She leans her head back against the headboard and hums. "Why's that?"

"I've been stuck in Illinois my whole life." I tell her. "My Dad was the one that travels around the world. That was his job. He was a business guy."

"What about your Mom?"

"Mom traveled too sometimes. She was into marketing." I try to think back to those times when Mom and Dad would miss some of my soccer games to go somewhere else. I was disappointed at first but I got use to it. It's better to have them miss some sports games than to have them miss my birthday or any other holidays. I turn back to Santana and smirk. "You used two questions in one turn so I get to do the same."

Santana chuckles and nods her head. "Fine. Go ahead."

"What are your brothers like?"

Santana licks her lips and idly stares at my hand that was sticking out of the blanket. "My oldest brother, Eddie, he was the guy that likes to be the over-achiever. He got into honor rolls and other school shit. He did the homework that was due the next week and turned it him the day after he was assigned to it." Santana closes her eyes and lets out a small laugh. "During his junior year, he somehow discovered all the due dates to all the projects he was suppose to do throughout the year. He did all of them in a couple months and turned them all in the next month."

"Whoa." I giggle. "That's funny. How did he do that?"

"Beats me." Santana shrugs. "Eddie just wants to get things done and do something else. I'm pretty sure he's a secret genius. He skipped a grade so yeah. But my other brother, Jorge, he was a big athlete. Linebacker in football, goalie in hockey and soccer, he was also in the swim and water polo team. Also in wrestling, he was such a beast. Threw the guys out of the ring or whatever it's called."

"That's awesome." I laugh but soon paused it so I could sneeze into the blanket. I didn't want Santana to get any germs. "Okay second question, where did you grow up?"

"California." Santana answers simply. "Then moved to Illinois in sixth grade then moved to New York for college and I moved out here in Chicago a couple months ago after my—uh—divorce."

"You've been moving a lot."

"It's okay. I like a change of scenery."

I stare at Santana and softly smile at her daydreaming expression. Her hair is starting to get messy and her clothes are wrinkling from slouching against the headboard. Suddenly Santana snaps out of her haze and looks at me. My lips part and I say. "I do too."

Santana nods and folds her hands on top of her stomach. We're lying side by side, just staring at our wiggling toes. "My turn." Santana exclaims. "Can you tell me what your brother is like?"

I inhale and exhale slowly. My fingers slowly curl around the blanket and I bite the inside of my cheek. Where to start…Where to start… "His name is Charlie and he was pretty goofy. He was the funniest and sweetest guy I know. He was smart too and its cool cause I wasn't good at school and he would always help me and he didn't laugh or get mad whenever I got something wrong."

"He sounds cool." Santana lifts up a smile. "What else?"

"Charlie and I would sometimes make movies with our Mom's camcorder." I chuckle in remembrance. "We would shoot ourselves being little daredevils, like jumping off stuff or climbing the highest things we can find. We even filmed dance battles between each other."

"I'd love to see those movies." Santana tells me.

"They were pretty awesome." I say airily.

"I bet." Santana fiddles with the hem of her shirt. "Tired?"

"Not really." I honestly say. "It takes a while to knock me out."

"Shall we keep playing then?"

"Sure."

"Alright. My turn then." Santana and I stay quiet and wait for her question. After a few seconds, Santana snaps her fingers. "I got it. What's your favorite color?"

I laugh. "You took all that time and you came up with that question?"

Santana just grins. "Answer the question, Miss Pierce."

"The rainbow." I answer without missing a beat. "Because just picking one color isn't fair."

"Why does that make sense?" This time Santana laughs. "I like that answer."

"Good." I smile brightly. "Not many people do."

We continue to answer more questions. Just simple ones like how was our day, how's work, and the weather. We kept asking questions till it wasn't even 20 questions anymore. We just lost track. My fever went down and I still don't feel sleepy. I don't think Santana gave me the medicine that makes me drowsy. I tried telling her that but she doesn't believe me.

"One last question and I'll leave you so you could take a nap." Santana tells me and gives me a stern look. Looks like she means it.

"Okay _Mom_." I roll my eyes and try to think of a good question. I still have so many, like how does she like her eggs done, or what's her favorite shoe brand. I know those are weird but I wanna know! She's the most interesting person I have ever met. We hear Graham's laughter coming in the room and suddenly a question pops in my head.

"Hey San?"

"Hm?"

You know, it's a question that really has been bottling around in my head for a while. "How come…How come you haven't asked about Graham's Dad?"

Santana's eyes slowly open and she shifts her head to the side so she could look at me. "It's not my business, Britt." She softly replies.

"Oh." I exhale. "You've never been curious about it though?"

Santana thinks for a second. "I have. Ever since I saw you and Graham together at Johnny Rockets."

I slowly lick my lips and dig my nails in my skin. "I could—I could tell you if you still want to know."

Santana looks straight at me. Her dark eyes digging into mine and I could feel her looking at me from inside and out. There's conflict in her eyes though. She's fighting back something and in the end she doesn't say it. Her face relaxes and she takes a deep breath.

"I really want to know, Britt." She tells me quietly. "But I don't think now is the best time."

"Why?" I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"Well." She begins and tucks the blanket under my chin. "You're still sick, you're eyes are slowly drooping, and I really think you need that nap. You can tell me later when you wake up."

She's right. I didn't even notice I was getting tired. I nod sleepily and watch Santana get out of bed. She walks over by the doorway and looks back at me. I mumble a goodnight, despite the fact that it's daylight, and she returns it back. I smile one last time before she closes the door and I'm all by myself in the silence. I close my eyes and rest.

* * *

Before I know it my eyes open again. I check the time and see that it's already past noon. My body still feels stiff but my sniffles have disappeared as well as my headache. I hold Santana's blanket close around me before walking towards the living room. Graham is lying there on the couch with Santana next to him. Her arm is draped around him securely so he wouldn't fall. Her other arm that's propped on the armrest is supporting her head as she snoozes quietly. A smile creeps on my lips and I find Santana's phone on the coffee table.

I slide the bar on her phone and open the camera app. I quickly snap a picture and save it on her phone before putting it back down on the table. I continue to stare at them though and I feel like this is what it's like to have a family like this. Like this is how a person should wake up to after they just woke up from their own nap. I wish…I just wish…I sigh sadly. I don't know what to wish for exactly, but I want something like this.

I decide to leave them be and wander around her apartment. It's certainty a lot bigger than mine that's for sure. They must pay her well at the company she works at. I look at the pictures and see more of Santana with Quinn and Mercedes in their younger years. I chuckle when I remembered that Santana is older than me. It's funny because she's shorter. When I was younger I always thought that the tallest is always the oldest.

A rumble in my stomach startles me. I sheepishly smile at my tummy before hopping over to the kitchen to help myself with some food. I'm sure Santana wouldn't mind since she already made me feel comfortable here. I open the fridge and see lots of food in there. My mouth slightly waters and I stare at it because I have no idea what to make. It all looks so delicious!

I hear flopping footsteps coming in after me and I instantly know who it is.

"Hey." Santana mumbles as she walks in.

"Hi." I reply, glancing over to her and see that she's rubbing some eye crusty away. "Good nap?"

"Wonderful nap." She sarcastically replies. Her hand rubs her back and she tries to stretch it. "Sleeping on the couch always makes my back hurt."

"That's cause you're an old woman." I let that comment slip on purpose because watching her make that annoyed face is so cute.

"Whatever." She spits back at you. Her arms cross and her eyes narrow causing the bridge of her nose to crinkle in distaste.

I close the fridge and laugh. "Sorry, sorry. Couldn't help myself."

Santana gives me a soft look before patting down her messy hair. Her gaze then travels to the fridge and she asks. "What would you like to eat? Graham and I had a small snack before you woke up."

"Mac 'n' Cheese." I mumble to myself. I haven't had that stuff in forever and I'm totally craving for some. Aw jeez, I hope Santana doesn't think that I'm immature for wanting that. I glance over to her and see her shifting around in a different cabinet.

"What'cha doin?"

"Making macaroni and cheese." She simply says and pulls out a box. "You did say you wanted it, right?"

A shy smile creeps on my lips and I shyly nod. Santana takes this as a sign and begins to boil some water for the macaroni. I stay by her side and silently watch her pouring the hard noodles in the boiling water. We both lean against the counter top across from each other, quietly eyeing the boiling pasta.

"Who is Graham's father?" Santana's voice is so quiet that I'm surprised I even heard her question.

My lips twitch as I reply to her. "My brother."

Notwithstanding the silence between us I can hear her thinking. The boiling water forms bubbles on the surface and pop in a millisecond. Steam rising from the pot and disappears in the air. Blue fire from the gas stove captures my attention and I decide to stare at that instead.

"Why isn't Charlie…You know." Her voice sounds unsure and awkward. "Did he rape you..? I don't understand…"

"No!" My eyes widen with disgust. "No! Oh god. I adopted Graham when he…" I trailed off. My palms began to feel damp and my chest suddenly squeezes my heart and lungs that it's a wonder that I'm still alive. "He died." I whisper sadly.

"Shit. I'm sorry." Santana automatically tells me. My eyes flicker towards her and I see her looking at her feet, her bottom lip sticking out almost quivering.

It's funny when a person says someone close to them died; the other person's response is 'I'm sorry.' I don't see the point in it. Why would you be sorry for something that you have no absolute connection to? It used to annoy me but when Santana said it, it's utterly endearing. The way her hand rubs her other arm shyly, and how her eyes narrowing down at her feet makes her look like a little girl.

"It's okay." I give her a smile. She looks up and I can see her beautiful face looking right back. "It was five years ago."

"Five years before Graham was born." Santana puts the puzzle together. "I don't understand so Charlie is Graham's real Dad and your not his real Mom?"

I nod. "It's kind of a sad story."

Santana bites her lip. "If you don't mind…"

"Now look who's being nosy." I tease her and see Santana's eyes go wide and she immediately says that I don't have to tell her anything and that it's not her busy to ask or know. Now she's talking non-stop about something. I have no clue because I just got lost after her saying sorry for the tenth time in her run-long sentence.

"It's okay, San." I assure her after trying to butt in in her rambling.

Santana looks at me with a flustered expression, turning the gas stove off and draining the water out of the pot. Her arm reaches out to me and I automatically extend mine, our fingers brushing together before she could fully grasp my hand. I smile timidly at the connection and I feel her hand squeezing mine. Santana leads me out of the kitchen and back to her room. She dips down on her bed and I'm pulled towards her from her own gravitational force.

Our bodies are touching, her grip around me is gentle and it's makes me feel safe. I slowly pull away, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable with the limited space between us, she doesn't notice that I moved away from her. Santana then tells me that I don't have to go into a lot of detail and talking about it here in her room is suppose to make me feel comfortable. I thank her and begin to play with my shirt.

"Can you tell me more about Charlie?"

Every memory with my brother comes flashing back. I tell Santana the day we went to Disneyworld with our family, the first time we had a fight over something trivial, those countless nights and weekends where he helped me with school. It's been forever since I've thought of those memories. The pain that I had with them were immense, just remembering those thoughts makes me want to cry.

And I tell her my favorite memory when I was 10 years old. It was Mother's day and I planned out a fabulous schedule for my Mom to follow. On the very top was 'breakfast in bed' meaning that I had to cook for her. I was so sure of myself that I could make blueberry pancakes for Mom but I ended up making a huge mess, which is until Charlie came in and helped me. He didn't get mad or yell at me, he just helped me make Mom breakfast and together we went inside the room and surprised her with it.

And another time when I was out with Charlie on our bikes. He was showing me this awesome hill that we could go down on on our bikes. As we rode around, my tire ran into some sort of bump and it made me go flying. Basically I landed face first and I was bawling my eyes out. I heard heavy footsteps coming at me and I look up to see Charlie trying to pick me up and checking to see if I broke anything. I smile sadly at those memories.

Santana looks at me and reaches for my hand. She squeezes it lovingly and gives off a small smile. "How old was he?"

"He was supposed to turn 30 this year." I whisper. My fingers automatically twist around Santana's fingers, palms touching each other cautiously. "He—" I smile at our hands. "He promised to buy me my first drink when I turned 21. Too late now, but I was excited, you know? Having to do something special with your older sibling."

"He was married right?"

"Yeah." My voice echoes in the room. "This beautiful woman named Rosie. They were like high-school sweethearts so I knew her for a long time. She was like a sister, really. It was great because I've always wanted a sister too."

Santana leans her head against mine, moving her cheek back and forth against my hair. "What was Rosie like?"

I took a moment to try to remember Rosie. Dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, that smile she always had on. I can't even recall time when she was frowning. "Rosie was so easy going. She wouldn't let anything bother or ruin her day. Sometimes she and I would practice dance moves since Rosie was all into modern dance. She actually taught me some moves."

"Yeah you are pretty good, when we were at The Bean, I mean." Santana grins and slyly her body inches closer.

"Yeah." I grin back. "And together they were just…just complete. Like they just found their other half already. They just had each other and they were living life to the fullest. I mean, their relationship is just like a typical romantic teenage story. Football player meets a performing arts student and they share things about themselves and fall in love."

Santana moves her legs in between mine. I look up at her and feel the heat rush to my cheeks. "I feel like their love story could be featured as a movie on ABC family." Santana comments.

I chuckle. "Yeah." I could see that happening. The moment Charlie brought home Rosie was the moment I knew something big is going to change our lives for the good and bad, unfortunately. "Rosie wasn't like the other girls Charlie dated. She included in me games and conversations unlike Charlie's ex-girlfriends who would always hog my brother."

"That's cute." Santana muses. "I would probably be the hogger than the sharer, but I wouldn't know since my brothers didn't really bring home girlfriends."

"Really?"

"They would just date girls until they found the right ones." Santana shrugs. "Which they did. One day they just brought home their dream girls and said they already put a ring on it. Eddie and Jorge obviously didn't do that at the same time but you know what I'm saying."

I nod. "I got you."

"Anyway go on." Santana nudges me gently with her head.

I giggle. "Okay. Where was I? Oh yeah. Charlie loved spending time with me and he also loved spending time with Rosie so he was actually excited to find out that Rosie and I got along so well since previous ones didn't work out so well." I grimace when I remembered that one girl, Sasha. She was always dragging Charlie around like a dog and barking orders at him. I don't even know what my brother saw in her. She was pretty that's for sure but she was terrible. She didn't even acknowledge me.

"When did they get married?" Santana's voice whispers in my ear. Too close, too close. My eyes shut for a second and I relax.

"They got married during my junior year of high school." I let out. "The wedding was amazing. The color theme was lavender, rose petals everywhere. I was one of the bride's maids." Santana smiles at the comment. "I cried during the wedding, my parents did, Rosie did, even Charlie."

"I'm sure the ceremony was gorgeous."

"It was more than gorgeous." I tell her earnestly. "It was amazingly beautiful."

"Then what happened?" Santana asks. "Where's Rosie since Charlie is gone?" Realization shines in her eyes. "Is she…?"

The atmosphere drops and my eyes soon began to sting. "It was the day of my graduation…" I close my eyes shut and the images of that day came. "Charlie, Rosie…My Mom…" I saw Santana biting her lip nervously. "My Dad. They were on their way to the ceremony where I'm suppose to get my diploma. They were almost on time." My voice wavering with each word I spit out. "I thought they were already there when I was on st-stage."

Santana's thumb rubs my cheek gently, wiping the unknown tear I had. "They didn't make it?"

"N-No." I croak. "When the ceremony was over I got a phone call-I was so confused." I breathed out, my chest burning as I tell her the rest. "They were in an accident, then hospital and the next thing I knew I was in my friend's car driving there."

"Oh Britt." Santana whispers.

I looking at my hands, staring at the curling fingers, and feeling the nails digging at my skin. "Charlie and my Mom didn't make it." I bitterly spit out. "My Dad was fine, he was in shock from the sudden crash and the airbag, just got a few cuts and a broken wrist. And Rosie-she was pregnant and she was suppose to have the baby a few weeks after my graduation!" I sit up and bury my face in my hands.

"Britt…" Santana's comforting arms around me.

"She was barely alive." I continue while staring at my lap. "And the crash shocked her or something, I didn't really understand what the doctor was talking about when he told me this, but it caused her to have the baby early. So they ushered me into the delivery room and I see Rosie screaming, trying to get the baby out. After 8 grueling hours she gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy I've ever seen." I smiled sadly in remembrance. "I was next to Rosie, sharing a grin with her while we watch the nurses take Graham away to have him cleaned up."

"So she was fine?"

I shake my head. "She was terribly injured. Lost a lot of blood that day and then delivering that baby was too much she…I don't know. I-I wasn't looking, I was watching the nurses clean Graham and when I came back to her room sh-she died. Died from blood lost. The doctors said she lost so much that they couldn't save her." I shut my eyes, trying to squeeze the tears out of me. "Rosie never got the chance to hold him."

"Britt." Santana trails off, staring at me like I'm a completely different person. "I don't know what to say."

"Then don't." I harshly tell her, watching her wince at my tone of voice. My face softens and I apologize.

Santana shakes her head and drapes her arm around me. "It's okay. I know I can't fully understand what you've been through, but I understand the pain of losing someone."

I look up at Santana and see that she was genuine. I give her a weak smile before I try to wipe the tears away from my face. Warm hands cup my cheeks, shifting my face to look right at Santana. Her smooth skin with tinting red cheeks and eyes threatening to spill their own tears from the story I just told. I didn't know Santana was sensitive like this. I place my hands on hers and we share a small smile.

"Mom!" Graham comes running in.

Santana and I both sit up, separating from reach other, creating enough space for Graham to squeeze in between, not noticing my puffy red eyes. I glance over at Santana and see her flustered expression. She was trying to compose herself right now. I quietly chuckle to myself and look down at my son to see him snuggling in between us. He definitely looks comfy.

"What's up Graham Cracker?" I stroke his hair fondly.

Graham looks up at me and smiles. "I missed you guys."

"We were only in a different room." I kiss his forehead and he playfully swats me away.

"You guys were gone for like ever." Graham exclaims, putting much emphasis on the words 'for-like-ever'.

"I bet." Bringing him close to me, I see Santana's serene expression. She tries to get close to Graham but her body tenses like a scared cat. Widening eyes and sudden vacant expression, Santana leans away from us and blinks rapidly.

"Uh-hey, Graham, I just made some mac'n'cheese for your Mom." Santana says while getting off the bed. "There's enough for all three of us."

"Oooh!" Graham hops off the bed and flies out the door.

Santana turns back at me and sticks her hand out. "Coming?"

Grinning, I reach for her hand and grasp her warm hand. Without even trying, Santana pulls me up and leads me to the kitchen, never letting go of me. When we get in the kitchen we didn't find Graham. I look at Santana and she shrugs indifferently and releases her grip, causing me to miss her touch immediately.

Santana ushers me to sit down when I began to take some plates. I roll my eyes when she snatched the plates away from me, saying that I'm a guest slash sick person and I shouldn't be doing anything. I giggle when Santana twirls towards me with plates in her hands and setting them in front of me and two other chairs. She then grabs the pot with the finished mac'n'cheese and pours it on each plate.

"Graham!" I call out.

Light footsteps hastily come towards us and I see him grinning from ear to ear with a shiny black hockey helmet.

Graham halts in front of us and bounces on his toes. "Mom look!"

"Baby where did you get that?" I look at him with disbelief. Did he steal that?

Laughter makes me tear my gaze away from my son. "Huh?"

Santana lightly smacks her head and chuckles. "I totally forgot! That was supposed to be for you little man." She walks towards Graham and places her hand on his helmet and shaking it. "I wrapped it and everything. I was suppose to give it to you the day after your birthday."

"It was the helmet I wanted!" Graham squeals.

Santana smiles and sits down across from me. "Guess he got his grubby little fingers on it before I could give it to him."

"I'mma head to the bathroom first." Graham tells us and runs off.

I stare adoringly at Santana while she scoops macaroni in her spoon and shoving it in her mouth. She glances up at me and sees me staring. A smile twitches on Santana's lips and I smile back. Santana looks back at her food and continues to eat. I slowly mimic her actions but my eyes were still trained on her.

"Wha?" Santana speaks with food in her mouth. She suddenly blushes and she gulps down the food. "Sorry."

"I don't know what to say." I finally tell her.

Santana shifts her eyes from side to side. "I don't either." She slowly says in confusion.

I stifle a giggle. "I mean the gift, for Graham."

"Oh!" Santana flushes. "Oh. Uhm..Yeah.I mean—Did ya see his face when he couldn't get that thing?"

"It was devastating." I answer her.

She nods her head. "I mean, I have to! I-I not 'have to' but I felt like I needed to. You know? I can't…I don't know how to say it or explain it. I just—"

Santana kept rambling that I had to stop her. My hand suddenly found itself on hers and silence rises between us. My heart skips a beat when Santana looks up at me, staring as if I found the answer to her prayers. Santana's fingers unravel for a moment before tangling themselves with mine. I lightly squeeze her hand and she returns the action, making me smile at her.

"Thanks for listening to me too." I say to her with all honestly. "I've never told anyone about it and I…"

Santana nods her head and rubs her thumb against the back of my hand. "I got you, Britt. I'll always be here for you."

"Boy, I'm hungry!" Graham exclaims as he climbs onto the chair. He grabs his spoon and look at us for a moment before his gaze moves towards our linked hands. His face then turns perplexed.


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own Glee ©**

**there might be a few mistakes. i'm sorry  
**

* * *

Graham sucks his lower lip in and stares at the hands. He doesn't understand. He thought his Mom liked Ryder. Didn't they go on tons of dates? Okay, maybe not a ton, but still. Graham looks over at Santana and sees her giving shy smiles at his Mom, who was quietly giggling like his friend Maggie whenever he did something nice for her. His eyes narrow at their linked hands while eating his own macaroni. The helmet suddenly slides forward, blocking his view in front of him, he could hear chuckling coming in his ears. A hand pushes his helmet back and Graham sees his Mom smiling adoringly.

"You really like that helmet, huh Graham Cracker?"

Graham grins and nods excitedly, the helmet moving back and forth quickly. His eyes scan over to Santana and he sees her having that same exact smile as his Mom. He guesses he could allow Santana to date his Mom, but he feels weird about it. Maybe Graham doesn't trust her or maybe he got use to the fact that Ryder would hang out with his Mom all the time. He totally thought that his Mom had a crush on Ryder! Sometimes Ryder would make those goo-goo eyes when he would look at his Mom. Like what she's doing right now with Santana! _See?_ His Mom and Ryder have the same interests.

Santana look over at Graham and grins. "Like the food, little man?"

Graham shrugs and shoves the rest of his macaroni in his mouth. He chews slowly just like what his Mom would always tell him. Anyway, Graham decides to keep a close eye on those two adults. Even though he doesn't like to admit it, there's something going on with them.

Perhaps, even if there's a chance that his Mom like, _like_, Santana then Graham should put her through the test to see if she likes him (which she already proved) if she likes sports (Graham thinks that she already mentioned that she liked them), make sure she's not ever mean again, and most importantly to see if Santana makes his Mommy happy.

His ears picked up some more giggling. Graham looks up from his plate and sees the adults chattering away like teenagers from those TV shows that he watches at Emma and Will's place since they let him watch anything unlike his Mom who makes him watch cartoons, which doesn't seem like a bad thing but sometimes Graham likes to watch sit-coms even if they're terrible shows.

"So Graham." He looks up and sees Santana nodding at him. "You want to try that bad boy out?"

It takes him a second to figure out that she's talking about his brand new helmet. Graham nods back and decides to test the waters. "Can you play with me?"

Santana and his Mom share silent conversation before they turn back to him. Hi Mom smiles happily at her son as Santana replies. "Sure little man." She then looks at Brittany. "Maybe you should stay inside since you're still sick."

Graham watches his Mom snort. "San, I'm not a kid. I think I'll be fine with you guys outside."

Santana slightly frowns and reaches over to touch his Mom's cheek. "You're still warm."

His Mom rolls his eyes. "I'm fine. Come on, let's just go."

That's when Graham found himself out at the ice rink with his Mom and Santana. Graham watches Santana wander over to the stand to rent a couple of ice skates meanwhile his Mom is helping Graham put on his. It's a cold day as usual so his Mom had to wrap his yellow scarf around him. The fabric annoys Graham but one time he didn't wear it and he got sick for a week and it sucked. His hands clutches a couple of hockey sticks tightly as he stands up, and with his Mom's help, he gets on the ice rink.

Skating around, Graham sees a few people on the ice which is good since there will be room to play a couple games of hockey. He turns around and sees Santana trying to get on the ice. Graham breaks out into a giggle fit because it's funny seeing Santana, who's always composed, nervous. His Mom gives her a comforting smile and holds out her hand for Santana to grab. Santana has this grateful look on her face as she holds onto his Mom's hand for dear life. Graham smirks and skates over to them.

"Ready to play?" Graham asks excitedly, handing a hockey stick to Santana.

Santana chuckles nervously and uses the stick to keep her balanced. "Give me a few minutes to myself to figure out how to do this."

Graham pouts and nods understandingly. It does take a while for a newbie to figure out how to skate. And with that said Graham skates off. He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a puck, dropping it on the ground, Graham practices handling it with his hockey stick. Looking up, he glances over to his Mom and sees her holding Santana's hand still.

His Mom roars with laughter when Santana falls on her bum. Graham cracks a grin and continues to watch. Santana's face is blushing but she gets up nonetheless. His Mom takes her hand again and they take off. Graham idly moves the puck around because he' too busy watching those adults skate around the rink. After a couple more minutes Santana skates over to him.

"Okay." She pants. "I'm ready. Let's go play some hockey, little man." And places a hand behind Graham, guiding him to the single goalie on the ice.

Graham looks behind him and sees his Mom smiling at him as she trails from behind. Once they get there Santana asks him how to play this. Graham smiles and explains that they just have to fight for the puck and make the goal. Santana grins and tells him that's easy. They both face each other with the goal just a few feet away and the puck in the middle.

"You ready to lose?" Graham teases while looking up at Santana.

Santana smirks and hits her hockey stick on the ice. "I was going to ask the same thing."

"Ready." Graham hears his Mom yell out. "Set. Go!"

Graham swipes the puck away and chases it down the ice rink. He could hear Santana's blades hitting the ice as she tries to catch up to him. Graham bites his lip and pulls his stick back and hits the puck. Santana watches at the small disc flies into the air. She starts speeding up to it only to be beaten by Graham who rushes in out of nowhere.

"Fuck." Santana mutters under her breath and chases after Graham.

Graham grins when he sees the open goal. He doesn't stop, he guides the puck near the goal and swings his hockey stick and watches the puck go into the goal and hit the back of the net. Graham hollers, raising his hockey stick up into the air, and skates around Santana who is bending down and trying to catch her breath.

Santana closes her eyes shut. "Jesus Christ help me."

"Let's play again!" Graham exclaims while bouncing on his feet.

Santana groans an okay and the two are back where they started. With determination, Santana focuses on the puck and the two wait until Brittany says go. Ready. Set. Go! This time Santana hits the puck and it flies towards the goal. Her eyes light up but it soon dies down when the disk hits the metal post and goes the opposite direction from the goal.

"Crud!" Santana exclaims when she sees a flash go by her. It was Graham.

Santana skates after him but it was too late Graham got to the puck before her. Graham sticks his tongue out at Santana and glides over to the goal where he wins another point. Graham shouts and skates over to his Mom.

Graham grins and embraces his Mom's legs and looks up. "Did you see? Did you see? I beat Santana!"

"You did baby!" His Mom grins and picks him up. She looks over to where Santana is panting and skates over to her. "You did great San."

Santana continues to pant as she looks over to them. "Y-Yeah—_huff_—You were pretty—_huff_—good little man—_huff—_Oh jeez…"

Santana then lies down on the ice. Graham hears his Mom giggle and soon enough they're on the ice as well. Graham wraps his arms around his Mom's neck and looks over to Santana. Her cheeks are flushed from the cold and the sweat she's producing makes her look gross. Her chest rises up and down quickly from the lack of air her lungs couldn't get, making her sound like a dying dog. Graham chuckles and makes himself comfortable on his Mom's lap. He has to admit, Santana played pretty well even though she couldn't really keep up and gave up after two short rounds.

"Are you okay, San?" His Mom coos, her hand brushing Santana's cheek lovingly and pushes a few strands of hair away from her face.

Santana's panting dies down and she smiles at her with this glint in her eyes that Graham noticed. "Yeah Britt. Your kid is pretty good." She reaches over and knocks on Graham's helmet jokingly. "Nice job, little man." And she laughs tiredly.

"You're really worn out, huh?" Graham hears his Mom say with a teasing tone.

Santana rolls her eyes and sits up. "You have no idea. Let's just skate around."

Graham felt his Mom release him and he watches her stand up and holds out her hand for Santana to grab. She helps her up and they just stand there with their hands linked like they did a couple hours ago. Graham rolls his eyes and decides to just play around with his hockey stuff.

He pulls his stick back and smacks the puck causing it to fly into the air. Graham watches it hit some girl's leg. Automatically, he moves over to her and sees her bending down to pick up his puck. She stands up and looks over to Graham and suddenly they both break out into grins.

"Maggie!" Graham exclaims excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

Maggie grins and pushes back her red hair. "My Uncle takes me ice skating sometimes. He runs that booth." She points over to the shack where you rent ice skates.

"That's cool." Graham nods and suddenly he has an idea. "You wanna play hockey with me?"

Maggie puffs her cheeks and shrugs. "I don't know how to play."

Graham rolls his eyes and grabs her hand. "It's easy. Here, you can use my new hockey stick since you're my best friend."

"Oooh." Maggie awes as Graham hands her the stick.

Graham smiles and leads her over to the rink and picks up the other hockey stick. "We can just pass the puck around if you want."

"Sounds good!" Maggie bounces on her knees, dropping the puck, and hitting it over to Graham who got it. "So what are_ you_ doing here, Graham?"

Graham moves the puck around before passing it to Maggie. "My Mom and her girlfriend brought me here to play hockey together but now they're just skating around." He points over at them.

Maggie looks and sees the familiar blonde woman with some stranger next to her. If she squints her eyes she could see them laughing and jokingly nudging each other around. "Oh. I thought you said your Mom liked that Ryder guy." The disk slides over to Graham.

Graham stops the sliding puck and shrugs. "I thought so too but I guess not."

"Well I think it's cool." Maggie tells him, knowing that her best friend has always wanted the perfect male-adult role model to look up to. "It's like having two Moms."

The bridge on Graham's nose scrunches. "I guess, but I like Ryder. He likes dancing with me and stuff."

"He tells boring stories." Maggie reminds him and then urges Graham to pass the disk. "Remember, you told me."

"True."

Graham roughly smacks the puck and watch it go past Maggie. She rolls her eyes at Graham, who sheepishly grins. Maggie huffs and goes after the puck. While Maggie fetches it, Graham looks back at his Mom and Santana. His Mom has this devilish look in her eyes and suddenly she pushes Santana into the snow. Graham smiles without him knowing it. He hears Santana squealing from the cold impact and glares mockingly at his Mom who was laughing her butt off.

Maggie shouts out Graham's name, forcing him to look over to her. She smiles and passes the puck to Graham and sticks her tongue out at him. "Thanks a lot for making me go all the way there to get that puck."

"You're welcome." Graham replies cheekily.

"Tell me more about your Mom's girlfriend." Maggie demands and watches Graham slide her the puck.

"She's cool, I guess." Graham tells her nonchalantly. "She can draw really good and she's nice but when I first met her she was real grade A meanie."

"Dang." Maggie comments. She moves the black disk back and forth in front of her. "How did they meet?"

Graham frowns and looks back over to them. "I don't know. Mom never told me."

"Maybe it was in a romantic way." Maggie sighs in thought and passes back the puck.

Graham makes a sour face. "Gross, that's my Mom you're talking about, Maggie."

"Well maybe!" Maggie rolls her eyes and drops her hockey stick. "This is boring."

"Well it wouldn't be boring if you knew how to play!" Graham snaps.

Maggie rolls her eyes again, use to Graham snapping at her like this since they do that to each other at the daycare. "Let's just skate around."

"Fine." Graham huffs and picks up the puck from the ground. "But we gotta put my stuff back on the bench.

Maggie picks up the hockey stick and follows Graham over to the other side to drop their stuff off. Graham decides to keep his hockey helmet on since it's still brand new and someone might try to steal it.

"What's her name?" Maggie asks.

It takes Graham a few seconds for me to realize what she was talking about. "Santana."

"I like that name!"

"You only just heard of it!"

Maggie sticks her tongue out and skates backwards so she could continue having a conversation with Graham. "So is like, Santana gonna be your Mom?"

"I can't have two Moms." Graham snorts but then stayed silent for a second. "Can I?"

"I think so." Maggie ponders. "But Grandpa says that it makes God mad if someone has two Moms or two Dads."

Graham shrugs and skates backwards like Maggie. "Well good thing we don't go to church. So I think I'm good."

Maggie nods. "Okay then that's good."

"You want to play with me today?"

Maggie glances over at Graham and sees him looking over at his Mom and Santana. "Play date?"

Graham grimaces. "No date, but yeah we can play. I just don't want to be stuck with Mom and Santana all day cause I know they're gonna make kissy faces all day."

"Gross." Maggie snickers. "But Okay. I'll ask my Uncle after we're done here."

"Well what do you want to do after this?"

Maggie thinks for a moment. "Can we bake a cake?"

"Only girls do that." Graham exclaims.

"But you bake with your neighbor Emma!" Maggie points out. "So it shouldn't be weird with me."

Graham pouts. "Fine. I think we're going back home today so we can maybe use Emma's kitchen if they're back from Florida."

"Why they in Florida?"

"Cause the heater broke in our apartment building." Graham frowns. "It stinks cause it gets super cold, but we stayed in Santana's place and it was nice and warm."

"Oh." Maggie hums. "That's okay. Let's go ask your Mom." This time she grabs Graham's hand and glides over to the adults.

Graham's Mom glances over to them and smiles. She nudges Santana who was about to take out a cigar out of her pocket. Santana notices the children so she quickly slides her cigar back in her sleeve. She gives Brittany a sheepishly smile and waves at Graham and Maggie.

"Hey kiddies." Brittany greets. Graham sees his Mom's and Santana's arms linked together yet again. "Do you need something Graham Cracker?"

Graham ignores Maggie's snickering when she heard his Mom say his nickname. "Can me and Maggie go back home so we could bake a cake? And can we use Emma's kitchen cause it's awesome."

Brittany giggles. "Well sure, but we can't go in Emma's place because she and Will are still gone."

"Plus that will be breaking in." Santana adds. "You guys can use my kitchen."

He watches his Mom look over at Santana, who simply shrugs. His Mom looks back at them. "Well what kind of cake do you want to make?"

Graham stabs Maggie in the side with his elbow. She winces and rubs her sore side while glaring at her best friend. "Can we make chocolate?"

"Sure." His Mom chirps. "I think we have chocolate cake mix at the apartment. You think we could stop by there?" Directing the question over to Santana.

"Sure thing Britt." Santana nods. Her arm moves up and she pulls back her sleeves to look at the hand watch on her wrist. "If we leave now we can bake the cake and maybe watch a movie at my place."

"Sounds great." Brittany grins. She looks over at Graham and tells him. "Why don't you go with Maggie so she could ask her parents if she could come over. We could drop her off once the movie is finished."

"I'm with my Uncle." Maggie corrects and points her thumb back to the rental skate shack.

"Let's just give back the skates and head over to your place so we can get that cake mix and go back to mine." Santana decides.

They all nod and skate over to the shack. They take off their skates and put on their shoes and boots and began to talk to Maggie's Uncle. Santana snickers when she sees Maggie and Graham begging the man to let Maggie play. Thankfully the man is acquaintance to Brittany and allowed Maggie to go with them. The group head over to Santana's car and they take off to Brittany's apartment.

"So where did you guys meet?" Maggie asks Brittany and Santana who were up front.

Graham stares at Maggie like she grew a second head. It was a blunt question after all. He looks over at his Mom and Santana and saw them blushing like crazy. They were quietly whispering something to each other and then they just say.

"Panera Bread." They say in unison.

Graham and Maggie share a look before accepting that answer. Graham feels that they're lying to them but he doesn't push it, because he knows they probably have a reason for doing that. They manage to get to the apartment and go inside the complex. When get they to the door Brittany whips out a key and opens the door. A sudden rush of coldness attacks them.

"Whoa!" Santana exclaims. She wraps her arms around herself and shudders. "God, this is more freezing than the hallway!"

"Yeah." Brittany sniffles. Santana notices her shaking from the cold. "The heater broke and the guy who owns this building is too lazy to fix it. Happened before with the washing machine and it's still broken."

"H-How come h-he do-doesn't fu—freaking fix it?" Santana stutters and watches Brittany look for the cake mix.

"We did complain." Brittany replies and opens a cabinet. "And he promised to fix it but later on he didn't so we kind of learned to adopt? Yeah that's the word."

"Adapt." Santana smiles softly at her and glances over to Graham and Maggie who are grabbing the blanket off the bed to wrap themselves in. She bites her lip and looks back at Brittany who finally found the cake mix.

"Do you have frosting at your place?" Brittany asks.

Santana thinks for a moment. "Yeah. Rachel and Quinn were baking in my kitchen just last week. We have a lot of frosting left."

"Sweet." Brittany fist pumps, causing Santana to giggle. Brittany smiles shyly when she stops and looks away.

Santana smiles at how timid Brittany got and decided to get a good look around the place since she only glanced at it last time she was here. It's pretty small in her opinion but she guesses that's what this family gets for working a minimum wage job. It isn't too dirty but it's too cramped. The bed takes up nearly all the space and you can't really have people over here. Santana licks her lips and thinks for a moment. She could offer…She shakes her head and pinches her thigh. No, she couldn't…Could she?

She shakes her head. Why would she ask Brittany to move in with her? She seems perfectly content with this living arrangement, but yet it looks like she doesn't. Santana walks around and thinks for a moment. If Brittany moved in she could have more space and she'll enjoy herself with Santana. She smiles for a moment at the thought of waking up and seeing Brittany in the kitchen with Graham sitting at the table and hearing them have silly conversations about nothing. Suddenly her eyes widen, what the fuck is she thinking? The idea sounds so domestic that it's scary but—Santana looks over at Graham and Maggie and darts over to Brittany—it's something she wants.

Santana glances back at Brittany who was rummaging around still in the small kitchen space. It wouldn't hurt to ask. "Hey Britt?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you…" Santana trails off and looks at the corner of the room. Brittany focuses her full attention on Santana and waits for her to continue. "Why don't you and Graham just move in with me?"

"Huh?" Brittany's eyes practically bugle out of her eye sockets from the random offer. "I-I…We can't. I-I mean—"

"No, no." Santana shakes her head. She unwraps herself and grasps onto Brittany's cold hands. "I insist. This place is freezing and I bet this is why you got sick."

Brittany looks down at her feet. She really wants to move in with Santana, it would be nice to actually live in a place where there's room to move and have a warm place to sleep but it's intruding. After all they've been through, she thought she would never see Santana again. But now here she is offering a place to stay. Oh gosh, Brittany thought, this is getting out of hand. She looks up and sees Santana waiting for an answer.

Brittany finally decides. "Can I think about it?"

Santana's eyes widen but relaxed. She pulls Brittany into a tight embrace. "Take all the time you need."

"Mom!" Graham calls out.

The two break apart and see the kids huddled together in the blanket. "Can we go now?" Graham whines.

"Yeah." Brittany grins. "Let's go."

* * *

Graham smiles cheekily, raising his arms up to allow his Mom to tie the apron around him. He shares the smile with Maggie who grins while Santana helps Maggie with her apron. Graham grabs the bowl and hands Maggie the spoon and the two wait as the adults try to figure out the directions.

"I don't understand." Graham sees his Mom pouting. "So we're supposed to just add milk? I thought we gotta add more stuff into this cake."

Santana gives Graham's Mom an admiring smile as she glances right at her. "It's the instant stuff, B."

"Oh." His Mom shrugs and rips the top of the box off. There inside was a plastic bag filled with chocolate cake powder. "Says here on the back that all we need to add is milk, water, and an egg."

Santana nods and looks over at Graham and Maggie. "One of you has to get one cup of water and the other get a half a cup of milk." She hands each of them a measuring cup. "Be careful in my kitchen."

Graham rolls his eyes and hops off the chair he was standing on. He and Maggie waddle over to the fridge and open it. They instantly found what they were looking for. Maggie grabbed the carton of milk while Graham took the pitcher of water. It took the two kids a while to figure out the measurements since they didn't really learn it at school yet but thanks to Santana's help, they got it.

"Thank you!" Graham sees his Mom grin and taking the cups and dumping it with the powder. "Egg please!"

Santana strolls over and hands Brittany a single egg. Graham saw a glint of mischief in her eyes. When Santana turned around his Mom smacks the egg on her head. A scream came out of her, causing Graham and Maggie to jump. Brittany laughs heartedly but a gasp followed after when Santana grabbed a fistful of mixed ingredients from the bowl and threw it at Brittany.

"San!" Brittany squeals, wiping off the gross stuff that's on her face and hair.

"Britt!" Santana mocks with a smirk while the egg yolk drips down her forehead.

"How are we suppose to make the cake now!" Maggie exclaims with her hands on her hips, glaring at the women.

Santana grins while Brittany laughs out. "We still have enough. You two stir it while we get cleaned up."

Santana takes Brittany's hand again which goes noticed by Graham himself. The two adults scampered off to the bathroom, leaving the kids to themselves. Maggie looks over at her best friend and says. "They're not really responsible, leaving us like that."

Graham's face twists into disgust. "I think they just wanted an excuse to make out."

"Oh gross!" Maggie sticks her tongue out. "My big sister makes out with her boyfriend all the time." She exclaims. "It's sooooo icky."

"I bet."

Maggie takes the spoon from the counter top and begins to stir the ingredients. "Good thing we got a bunch more left."

Graham laughs and watches all the things in the bowl mix together into one big brown mess. "Looks like poo!"

"Ew, why would you say that! I don't know if I'll want to eat it now." Maggie whines.

"Oh hush." Graham says and sticks his finger in the bowl. He lifts up his hand and grins when he sees the oozing batter. He licks it up and repeats his actions.

Maggie sticks her tongue out at him. "Stop being gross. If you keep eating it then we won't have any cake."

"My Mom and S'tana can buy more." Graham shrugs and takes the mixing spoon that's covered in the batter and handing it over to Maggie. "Try it."

Maggie gives an 'are-you-kidding-me' look before taking the spoon and licking it. Her eyes widen. "Yummy!"

"Told ya."

"Can we just eat this instead of baking it?"

"Like I said, Mom and Santana can buy more." Graham grins and continues to eat the chocolate batter with his best friend.

"This is the best idea ever." Maggie giggles and shoves more cake batter.

After several minutes, Graham and Maggie were leaning against their chairs, groaning and moaning about their aching stomachs. They hear footsteps and talking and suddenly a gasp. Graham glances to the side and sees his Mom and Santana cleaned up and gawking at the scene in front of them.

"Whoa, what happened here?" Santana's eyes widening in shock, she walks over to the counter and picks up the bowl that was suppose to contain the batter. "It's empty." She scrunches her nose and shows it to Brittany.

Brittany laughs amusingly and goes over to the children who were still groaning about their tummies. "That's what you get for eating that stuff. It's bad for you."

"I didn't know it's bad for you." Maggie mutters, rubbing her stomach carefully. "It's all Graham's fault!"

Graham sits up quickly and glares at Maggie. "You went along with me!"

"Well you said that it'd be alright!"

"You didn't have to listen to me." Graham pouts.

Maggie sticks her tongue out. "Baby face."

"Poop butt!"

"Stinky breath!"

"Fish brains!"

Santana puts the bowl in the sink and starts cleaning. She looks over at the kids and then at Brittany who is looking right back at her. She mouths sorry to Santana and Santana simply winks.

"What are we suppose to do now?" Maggie exclaims. "I wanted cake!"

Brittany raises her eyebrows at the girl and says. "I guess we could always buy another box of cake mix." And then looks over at Santana, who shrugs.

The two adults discussed about what else they should get since they're going to the grocery store while Graham whispers. "I told you so."

"Hey Britt."

Brittany shifts her gaze over to Santana and see her nursing her cold glass of wine. After going to the store and picking up another box of cake mix and other foods, they finally made that cake. Graham and Maggie got out of hand with the frosting so it got everywhere. Usually Santana would scream about the mess (just like she did with Quinn and Rachel) but for once she was content with it and plus it was really funny to see Brittany join along with them. It's not everyday she would experience a full house like this. So after they ate the cake, watch _Mulan_ on Netflix, and drop off Maggie, Brittany realized how late it was so she made her son bathe and go to bed in Santana's bedroom, which she offered.

Brittany takes the wine out of Santana's hands and takes a sip. "Hmm?"

"Have you thought about what I said?" Santana slowly says. Her heart is pounding so fast that she's sure all of Chicago is hearing it tonight.

Brittany's eyebrows were furrowing in confusion until she realizes what Santana was talking about. Moving in with her. She takes another sip from the wine and asks.

"Why are you asking me to move in with you?" She bites the inside of her cheek. "Cause usually when two people have a few one night stands they tend to avoid each other."

Santana takes a deep breath and looks at Brittany. "Yeah, I know. But we became real good friends really fast and after being in your apartment, I kind of notice that you need a new place to stay."

"Are you trying to say something?" Brittany exclaims with an offended tone.

Santana shakes her head. "I'm not saying that you can't support yourself and Graham. I'm saying that you just need some help. Like a better place to stay and I can help you out and stuff—"

Brittany stares at Santana in confusion. Santana scratches her thigh and says. "I just feel comfortable with you living with me. That's all."

"Santana this is my life. I can't expect to just pack up and move in with you. I have to think about what Graham needs and—"

"Brittany." Santana places her hand on top of Brittany's and lightly squeezes it. "Because," She thought for a moment, why does she want Brittany to move in with her? Is it some kind of caring instinct that she has towards Brittany? Santana sucks it up and tells her. "I don't want you getting sick like that cause last time you fainted and to be honest, it scared the shit out of me."

Brittany's lips tug up a smile and squeezes Santana's hand back. "That's awfully sweet, San. But can I talk about this with Graham and think about it?"

Santana gulps and tries to smile back. "Yeah. You have all the time in the world, Britt. I can wait."

And without thinking Brittany leans in and kisses her softly on the cheek. "Thanks San."


End file.
